Meanwhile On The Other Side
by Ultimateblack
Summary: The multiverse is full of alternate realities and different timelines, connected to the tree of time. In this Multiseason crossover, the Digidestined will have to protect the real world from the invasion of Yggdrasil, as well as save the Digital World from the terror of the Digimon Emperor. [02 AU, Side 2 of two worlds].
1. Chapter 1: First Contact

_A/N: Welcome to Daisuke's side of things._ _If you haven't read Prologue: The Exchange (posted as a seperate story on my page) then you probably should, because some stuff here may not make sense. But if you want to have a sense of adventure by not reading the Prologue and doing some guesswork for this story, feel free._

 _Hope you enjoy._

 _DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon. I own this fic._

* * *

CHAPTER 1: FIRST CONTACT

 _Beep._

 _Beep._

 _Beep._

 _Will someone please turn off that annoying sound?_

Daisuke opened his eyes slowly and light flooded his vision. His eyelids dropped again, trying to shield out the glare as his pupils slowly adjusted to the sudden brightness. Once his sight cleared, Daisuke found himself looking at a white room. There was a vacant bed at the other side of the room and the place smelled like antiseptic spray. The window next to him was open, and the curtains lifted and fell slightly as an occasional breeze entered the room. Then he realized what the sound was and where it came from.

 _I am in a hospital._

Daisuke tried to sit up but winced because his back was sore. His limbs felt heavier than he remembered. The boy looked down at his body and saw white bandages wrapped around his torso. He had an intravenous tube connected to his wrist as well as several wires to the cardiac monitor next to his bed.

"Good morning, Davis." A young doctor walked into the ward with a clipboard in hand. He had dark blue hair and he wore square glasses, a white doctor's coat and a stethoscope hung around his neck. A nametag was clipped above his left chest pocket and it read "JOE KIDO".

Daisuke frowned and replied slowly, "Are you talking to me? Because my name is Daisuke, not Davis."

Dr. Kido raised an eyebrow and consulted his clipboard, "Really? You are registered as _Davis Kamiya_. Did your accident cause you to forget your real name?"

Daisuke opened his mouth to protest but he caught the word _accident_. He tried to recall what had happened but his brain answered with a stab of pain and then… Nothing. He couldn't remember. "What happened to me?"

Dr. Kido walked closer to Daisuke's bed and peered at him over his glasses. "I was hoping you could tell me, but apparently you suffer from amnesia. Two days ago, a man who looked like your older brother, I mean he looked exactly like an older version of you, appeared with you unconscious in his arms and asked us to attend to your injured back. Then he left and never came back."

Flipping the top page to look at the note underneath, Dr. Kido continued, "You had three large slash marks across your back, starting from the right shoulder down to your left hip. It's a miracle you survived and you weren't even bleeding much from the wounds." He replaced the top page and studied Daisuke's face. "We categorized this under _freak accident,_ because we have no idea what caused it.

Daisuke had a bewildered expression on his face. He opened and closed his mouth, making a very accurate impression of a goldfish. _This is madness,_ he thought. _Freak accident? Older version of me? I don't even have a brother._ "My name is Motomiya Daisuke and I don't have a brother, only a sister called Motomiya Jun."

Dr. Kido pondered for a moment before asking, "Are you saying that Motomiya Is your surname?"

"Duh, obviously. Surnames come first."

Kido scratched his chin and muttered, "Old style naming, huh? Interesting…" Finally, he said, "I'll look into it. Maybe you're related to Kari Motomiya, who does have a sister called Jun. Meanwhile, I'll go check on my other patients before coming back to you. Rest well for the time being." He walked out of the ward, leaving Daisuke dumbfounded and even more confused.

Daisuke lay on his bed and sighed. His mind was sluggish but he knew something was off. For one, he definitely didn't have a sister named Kari, and secondly Kari sounded a lot like his affectionate nickname for his crush, Hikari. He blushed when he imagined Hikari rushing into the ward and holding his hand, asking tearfully how he was feeling and expressing deep concern for him.

"Why are you grinning like a lovesick puppy?" A familiar female voice asked.

That jerked Daisuke out of his thoughts as he turned towards the source of the voice. Standing at the door with a raised brow was Yagami Hikari. He grinned even wider.

More footsteps were heard from the outside. Huffing as he brought forward a gigantic bouquet of assorted flowers, a new blonde boy answered, "Maybe he hit his head really, really hard." He placed the bouquet on the cabinet next to the bed and wiped his brow.

Daisuke's initial excitement at seeing his friend disappeared, replaced with confusion. "Who are you?"

The blond boy's jaw dropped, then he turned towards Kari while jabbing a thumb at Daisuke. "He really hit his head hard."

Kari walked closer and rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly, Ishida. He's not even wearing a bandage around his head."

"Yeah but—"

Kari glared at him and he closed his mouth. She turned her attention to Daisuke. "How are you feeling? Do you really not remember who TK is?"

Squinting at the blond, Daisuke shook his head. "TK Ishida… Never heard of him _."_ But he grinned at Kari. "So nice of you to drop by."

Kari pulled back and frowned at Daisuke. He was not acting like himself. First of all, he hadn't thanked them for the flowers and secondly, he was _grinning like a madman._ Maybe TK was right and he _had_ injured his head.

"We heard that you were absent due to an injury so we came after school."

TK sniffed and added, "And we bought you some get well flowers. Too bad you don't even remember who I am. That means you won't remember that you owe me 300 yen."

Kari slapped his shoulder playfully. "You're the one who owes him 300 yen, not the other way around." TK pouted and she laughed.

Meanwhile Daisuke was getting anxious and jealous that Kari was being so friendly with TK. He tried sitting up quickly but winced. Kari noticed and helped him up, so he calmed down a little. "Why the hell are you called TK? Is that even a name?"

TK rolled his eyes and answered, "My real name's Takeru. It was stupid nickname that Matt came up for me. It's short for The Kid."

Daisuke snorted, "I should probably call you TI, meaning THE IDIOT." He expected TK to get insulted, but he was surprised. The blonde boy pointed at him while facing Kari. "You see? Even he gets it!" He shook his fist at the ceiling and hollered, "Thank you, Matt for being such a _nice_ brother!"

Daisuke stared at him with a dumbfound expression. He turned to Kari for an explanation but she shook her head amusedly, as if this was normal behavior for him.

"Please refrain from making noise in the hospital." Dr. Kido walked into the ward again. Kari's face lit up and she greeted him, "Hello Dr. Joe."

He spotted Kari and said, "Ah, Hello Kari." Remembering their previous conversation, Daisuke's already wide eyes bulged even further. The doctor addressed the girl, "Kari, Are you related to anybody named Daisuke Motomiya? He claims to have a sister named Jun."

Kari knitted her brow as she tried to recall her family members. "No, I don't have any direct cousins. June and I are the only Motomiyas I know."

Joe nodded, satisfied with the answer. "Alright, Davis. Does that—"

 _THUMP!_

"-answer your question?"

The three people in the room looked down on the twisted up face of the unconscious Daisuke. The boy had fainted and his eyes were rolled up. His tongue stuck out animatedly.

Kari realized why the doctor asked her the question. "Oh no, did he think he was…"

"Daisuke Motomiya? Yes, he did." Kido completed grimly.

A silence filled the room, before—

"I told you he hit his head."

* * *

After he woke up half an hour later, Daisuke was discharged. He traded his patient's robe for a set of casual clothes, which Kari helped get from his place. Or Davis' place, whatever. Whoever this Davis Kamiya was, he shared Daisuke's taste in clothes.

At first, his mind went back to the reason he fainted in the first place and he was tempted to curl up into a ball and lie there. Even though he was pretty sure Hikari wasn't related to him, his intentions of dating her had abated because that would be incest and _really, really_ gross _._ Also, he didn't understand why everyone knew him as Davis Kamiya. As far as he remembered, he had never changed his name before.

 _Then again, my memories are quite fuzzy. Who knows what had happened over the past few weeks?_

Another funny thing was, Kamiya was an anagram for Yagami and that meant that even if Daisuke was really a Kamiya, he would still be related to Yagami Hikari. And therefore, still dating a relative.

 _Double gross!_

The whole idea didn't make sense but Daisuke decided that he would not think of this again if he didn't have to. Finding out that your once-crush is now inexplicably related to you can work wonders to your sanity.

He, Kari and TK walked out of the hospital wing of the Odaiba Academia. At the main entrance, he stared at the building. He asked his friends about the new place but they looked at him funny and answered that the hospital wing was built many years ago. When they offered to walk him home, he declined and said that he wanted to walk around. To breathe in some fresh air, he told them. His main purpose, however, was to see how much had changed while he was unconscious.

They walked the streets of Odaiba, relaxing and enjoying the sights. The city was buzzing with life. Men and women alike walked hurriedly, wanting to get to their destination in the shortest time possible. Occasionally the trio would stop in front of a store and peer into the glass pane where all sorts of goods were on display. Finally, they stopped by Ichigo's Ramen for lunch.

Kari and TK each ordered a regular ramen, while Daisuke had an extra-large serving. His friends gaped at him, for in their memory he had never ordered so much. He surprised them even further by ordering seconds.

 _At least the Ramen tastes the same._

He asked Kari about the Academia, and she explained that every school in Odaiba including Odaiba Elementary was demolished years ago so that a single central learning institution could be build. They spent most of the day walking around and Daisuke was satisfied that other than the Academia, everything else remained the same. He still couldn't believe that all of this happened in two days.

 _Am I in a dream? Or have I awakened to the real world like in that Matrix movie and everything I once knew was just a lie?_

He sincerely hoped that it was the former.

* * *

The sun had just risen, shining its rays of dawn across the land. A new day had just begun in the Digital World.

A cloaked human stood on top of a small hill, overlooking a tiny village at the foot of the mountain. The cottages had a dirty, worn look, having survived years of wear and tear. A pink blob with large red eyes bounced out of his house. The place was called Koromon Village, named after its inhabitants.

"What are you doing up so early, Tai?" Agumon asked as he walked out of the cave behind the waterfall, rubbing sleep from his eyes and giving an enormous yawn. He never understood why he got up so early. It didn't make sense to him why they couldn't sleep in, at least until noon.

The teenager's name was Taichi Kamiya, but he usually went by Tai. Shrugging, he replied, "I'm used to it. I had to get up early for school. Besides, I'm not the only one who thinks that waking up early is not a bad thing." He looked back towards the village where more and more Koromon had appeared.

"It's so nice, isn't it? If only there wasn't a war going on to disrupt the serenity."

Tai nodded in agreement. He regretted that he was powerless to stop Yggdrasil's army from advancing. Yggdrasil was once a deity of the Digital World, and it was said he was the god of all Digimon. No one had ever seen him, although there were rumors that he lived in a giant Tree of Life somewhere in the Digital World. The Sovereigns and Yggdrasil watched over the Digital World without truly meddling in affairs. They only mediated the battles and performed damage control. Everything had been peaceful, until Yggdrasil suddenly decided that he didn't just want to be a god who only watched over the Digital World. Instead, he wanted to _conquer_ it. He felt that giving the Digimon too much freedom would result in chaos.

The god abducted and brainwashed a human to be his messenger and to do his bidding and made him the Digital World's first Digimon Emperor. They amassed an army of Digimon, many tempted by the promises of power and the ability to digivolve freely; others were forced to submit under threat of being deleted. Five generals were elected to serve under the Emperor, who was never seen away from the grounds of Tree of Life.

Yggdrasil's army began their conquest to "spread order and unity". At first many stood up to Yggdrasil, but they were utterly crushed.

The first to go was the Veemon colony. The blue dragons and their evolved relatives were of the strongest clans in the Digital World. The Veemon were versatile, and their Digivolution chains were unpredictable. They also had the ability to digivolve freely. However, the Veemon were peaceful and never picked a fight if they didn't have to.

The Veemon, along with many of their Dramon (Dragon Digimon) relatives vocally disapproved of the digital god's dictatorship and military oppression. So, Yggdrasil stirred the discontent and envy of the other Digimon towards the Dramon's superior fighting abilities. He preached equality among the Digimon, claiming that no clan should have the ability to digivolve freely if others could not do so.

Most of the Digimon did not realize that their emotions were being manipulated by Yggdrasil and joined together to launch an attack on the Veemon colony. Various Dramon habitats were destroyed too, and the dragons surrendered. But not the Veemon; they would not give up no matter what. They could hold their own because of their Digivolving abilities and omnipotent digivolved forms.

At least, that was how things were before a black obelisk appeared on the mountain were the main Dramon city and Veemon home was. Suddenly, the Veemon had lost their ability to digivolve and could not fight back. The Emperor had finally found a way to suppress Digivolution.

In a few days the whole city was annihilated and no survivors were found. Veemon everywhere were deleted mercilessly and the remainder vanished completely, going into hiding. The leader of the Veemon, an Aeroveedramon named Razor was personally deleted by the Emperor. His Majesty decided that it was a perfect opportunity to show the Digital World what will happen to those who defy Yggdrasil.

Tai bit his lip. He was brought to the Digital World for none other mission than stopping Yggdrasil and the Emperor. He could somehow take the Emperor, but there was no way that he could defeat Yggdrasil. IF the entity was really a god as the rumors said, then he might just as well surrender. Come on, how could a 14 year old teenager come up with a way to defeat the almighty god of the Digital World? It was _insane._

He had been in Digital World for almost three digital weeks, although the time difference made it a week in the real world. During this time, he had not accomplished much. His companion took him to visit various villages, towns and cities, all of which did not agree with Yggdrasil's gain in power. They tried to spark a rebellion but it was harder than he thought. Razor's example had left the rest fearful and reluctant to ever rise up against the regime again. When the Emperor caught find of his actions, he was branded an outlaw and hunted down. In the end, Tai and Agumon went into hiding and they ended up in a cave behind the waterfall near Koromon village.

 _Damn you, Gennai. What were you thinking, sending me alone and expecting Agumon and I to accomplish something suicidal,_ Tai cursed inwardly. He was approached by a cloaked man after soccer practice one digital month and a half ago—in the real world, three weeks ago before going to the Digital World —who proposed that he had to save the Digital World where time travelled three times faster. With his face was hidden by his hood, the man had called himself Gennai and gave Tai a digivice. Like any logical person, Tai didn't accept some strange thing offered to him by a stranger.

Tai ran home, as fast as he could to get away from the man. Back home, Tai found the digivice in his bag and wondered how it had gotten there. There was also a folded note attached, telling him to point the digivice at his computer screen.

Curiosity got the better of him, but heaven knows why he _had_ to point it when his little brother Davis was next to him at the time. Well, he thought that it would be harmless if the computer wasn't on. However, the computer, which had been off at the time, suddenly turned itself on. The last thing he had heard was Davis calling after him.

"I am going to be in so much trouble when I get home…" Tai muttered. How was Davis going to explain that Tai had vanished into a computer? His parents would probably go out of their minds with worry. Then again, they were rarely ever around so they wouldn't. Davis would, though.

 _Poor Davis… I wonder, how is he coping?_

Tai had arrived in the middle of a busy town that resembled one from the Edo period, except the place was crawling with various creatures that he had never seen before. They all stared open-mouthed at the apparition and Tai scrambled for cover, as shocked as they were. Later, he met Agumon who had pounced on him and called him his partner. Things were awkward at first, but Agumon explained that Tai and a few others had once been there before.

Tai and the gang had to overcome many obstacles and defeat evil Digimon like Devimon and Myotismon. After they defeated the Dark Masters, the humans were forced to return and have their memories erased. It had been hard to say goodbye, but they still left with promises to meet again. Tai didn't believe a single word the talking orange dinosaur said, but a small part of him urged him to believe the story. Eventually his memories returned and they were truly reunited.

A faint squeal and groan came from inside the cave, ending Tai's thoughts. Tai and Agumon ran into the cave, where a bundle was wriggling.

"The egg has hatched!" Agumon exclaimed. He was referring to the egg they had found under the ruins of the Dramon City. Tai unwrapped the bundle of clean clothes he had gotten from friendly Digimon they had met along the way, revealing a small blue Digimon with large red eyes. Chicomon peered back at them curiously and introduced himself.

Tai's mouth twitched. They had an extra person to feed now, and he was looking at one of the last descendants of the Veemon lineage. Agumon introduced himself and Tai, who nodded absent-mindedly. He was thinking of what to do with the baby Digimon, when he got an idea.

He spoke to his partner who disagreed with him. But after some persuasion and seeing Chibomon devour half of their food supply for the next three days in minutes, Agumon gave in. The next day, Tai and Agumon woke up to an in-training level Digimon bouncing off the walls of the cave they were in. The amount of food consumed had given Chibomon enough energy to digivolve into DemiVeemon, further cementing Tai's decision to hide the little dragon in the real world. Once he digivolved into a Veemon, they would have trouble coming their way.

Yesterday, he had recalled Gennai telling him long ago in his first adventure that only certain people can see Digimon for what they are. The rest would probably see some sort of animal. The problem was sending him to the real world. During his journey, Agumon had once half-disappeared when they passed through a place. According to the Digimon nearby, the black towers (known as Control Spires) were weakening the barriers around the Digital World. A number of Digimon had gotten themselves trapped randomly in the human world after accidentally going through a rift in time and space. Such incidents were becoming more frequent, but only young or weak Digimon were drawn to the other side, as they didn't have enough energy to remain anchored to the Digital World.

That was the basis of Tai's plan. He told DemiVeemon about it, and to his surprise the little Digimon agreed without hesitating. When asked why, he said, "I don't want to be a burden to anyone. And I also want to explore the other side. I hope they have nice food." Tai and Agumon guffawed at the explanation.

"They do, I guarantee that," Tai winked.

Poking Tai's elbow, Agumon hopefully asked his human companion, "Tai, can we go there and eat something once this whole thing conflict is settled?"

Tai rubbed the dinosaur's head affectionately. "Of course."

* * *

Daisuke spent the rest of his day catching up with Kari and TK.

Of course, he had gotten over his initial shock of the facts being twisted inside out and his memories (or what remained of them) screamed with utmost certainty that whatever his friends said was not true. But he gave up trying to convince everyone else he was Daisuke and not Davis anyway.

Now the boy approached the subject warily, trying to learn as much as possible. He wanted very much to believe that the whole ordeal was a practical joke, but it was impossible that the world had transformed just to make the joke seem realistic.

For example, there were buildings that were not there a few days ago, but everybody appeared perfectly normal with it. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the buildings were constructed many years ago. So the practical joke theory went out of the window.

Being someone who had spent most of his time reading comic books and watching sci-fi cartoons, Daisuke came up with another idea. He hypothesized that the world history had been changed therefore everybody was acting normal. But if that was so, why was he the only one who wasn't affected by this change? Maybe because he was the one who made the change?

 _That doesn't make sense, because I'd have remembered the changes,_ mused Daisuke.

Lastly, maybe he was abducted by aliens and put into a simulation world in order for the extra-terrestrial beings to examine his mind.

"… I really have to stop reading this kind of stuff," Daisuke decided.

So after a long day, Daisuke went back to his apartment (with help from Kari and TK, who were worried about Daisuke's condition) and wasn't surprised to find himself in front of the Yagami– no, it's _Kamiya_ – residence. He found an extra set of keys under the flower pot, just like Kari told him. According to her, he told this secret to her long ago, when he was locked in once and wanted to get out of the house. He had called her over and sheepishly told her his family's secret location of the extra keys.

Daisuke envied this Davis for having such a good relationship with this Kari. Last time, he tried to get close to his crush by sticking around her all the time. He wasn't sure if it worked, because Hikari-chan didn't really seem to pay attention at times. Davis, however, had a perfect friendship with Kari. Kari was exactly like Hikari-chan—caring, friendly and humorous. However, she displayed a stronger personality, probably a side-effect of being a Motomiya.

Daisuke hoped he wouldn't ruin this friendship by impersonating Davis, although he might have already started doing so by acting weird in her eyes. Who could blame him? He was just being himself. Daisuke couldn't help it if Davis Kamiya had a personality that was the total opposite of his own, and he had no intention of acting like somebody he was not.

Inside the house, Daisuke surveyed the apartment. Having been to Taichi-senpai's house a few times, he recognized most of the furniture and their arrangements. The difference was, Taichi-senpai's old box TV was now a 50' inch flat screen and there was a PS2 system connected below. Daisuke's old PSX system was nowhere in sight, but he recognized some of his stuff arranged neatly on the coffee table. He checked his room, and his bed turned out to be a double-decker like Taichi and Hikari's. Again, Daisuke's books and belongings were arranged and stored neatly.

 _Huh, weird. Davis has most of my stuff yet he's a neat freak._

He exited the room and opened the balcony's sliding door to allow some ventilation. The cool night air flowed into the apartment, replacing the stale, stuffy air in the living room.

He checked the phone recorder and phone and found that there was a new voice message left on the machine. It was from Yuuko Kamiya.

" _Davis, if you are hearing this that means you're awake and home. Kari called us and we were worried sick. I'm sorry that we couldn't be there with you, but your dad had a lot of work to do so please understand. Make some food for dinner from what's left in the fridge. We will be back tomorrow. You know where to get money for food if the fridge is empty. Give us a call if Tai is home. Take care!"_

The recorded message ended with a blip.

Daisuke sighed. Of course he didn't know where the money was and he would have to ransack the house for it. Taichi-senpai's dad was a businessman and his mom was supposed to be a housewife back then. But now, she is following her husband out on business trips. Daisuke was surprised that she had dared to leave Tai (who he assumed is Taichi) and his brother Davis alone at home for days. No wonder Tai went missing.

He had heard from Kari about how Tai had disappeared into a computer screen last week and had never been seen or heard from since. TK had told his brother, Matt Ishida about the incident since Tai was Matt's best friend. Nobody could explain what happened, although the older Ishida had seemed more thoughtful than usual, according to TK.

Putting everything out of his mind, Daisuke stepped into the shower. He didn't notice a pixelating hole appear in his living room and a little blue creature fall out of it. Shaking its head and groaning, it looked around with huge, curious red eyes, fascinated by the unfamiliar objects in the place. There were big wooden things and the floor was cold and hard but smooth. Demiveemon's mouth hung open as he stared up at the big, spinning thing hanging from the ceiling. There was a black, flat surface on one of the giant things and he walked towards it and saw his reflection.

 _I look so cute,_ he thought.

Instinct took over as Demiveemon followed his nose towards a cookie jar placed on the counter. He tried to lift the cover, but it was too much for the tiny stubs he had instead of hands. After a few failed attempts he kicked the jar in frustration. That caused the jar to lose balance and tumble onto the floor, where the glass shattered with a loud crash. With a yelp, he hid himself from view as a shadow appeared in the hallway.

There was a human that looked like Tai. Before he was sent through the portal, Tai had warned him not to simply come in contact with other humans. He observed quietly, careful not to be seen.

The crash had brought Daisuke into the living room, water dripping from his hair and he had a towel around his waist. The boy located the source of the commotion and scratched his head.

 _The jar should have been on the counter in the dining room. How did it drop onto the floor?_

Now, 8 round cookies lay on the floor among the shards of glass.

Scratching his head in confusion, Daisuke shrugged and hurried off to finish his shower. Demiveemon came out from his hiding spot and blinked. There was something about that boy that he felt. It wasn't something he could put his finger—or stub, in his case—on, but he sensed that no danger would come.

Demiveemon turned his eyes towards the mess he had created. _Uh oh, I made the place dirty,_ he thought. Putting that thought out of his mind, he leapt off the counter and landed on a shard-free spot. He swept the glass pieces away and plopped down, grabbed one of the round pieces close by and took a bite.

He changed into comfortable clothes he found in his supposed room and went to clean up the mess. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed that only half of the cookies on the floor remained and there sat a small blue bunny-like creature munching happily on a cookie. Crumbs smeared all over its face as it chewed with a rapid _crunch, crunch, and crunch._

Daisuke's gasp got its attention and the blue bunny looked up from its snack.

Demiveemon panicked for a moment but he chewed a few more times and swallowed. Since he had already been spotted, he might as well try to make friends.

He raised his tiny right hand and waved. "Hello! This is really tasty. What is it called?"

Daisuke paled, then his facial muscles twitched. Gulping, he tried to calm himself. "It's called a cookie…"

Then he lost control. "…BUT WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

* * *

 _A/N: I've begun to revisit some of my older chapters to give them some touch up. This is the first one to receive treatment. Most of the chapter remains the same though._

 _Hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review to tell me what you think!_


	2. Chapter 2: Digivolution, Exveemon!

_A/N: Here's a new chapter for you guys! Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them. I was on a writing spree so I finished this chapter as well._

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon or its characters, but I do own the plot of this story and anything else I made up. Xavier is my OC, not the mutant professor._

* * *

CHAPTER 2: Digivolution, Exveemon!

"I am Demiveemon. I'm a Digimon. Nice to meet you." Demiveemon waved at Daisuke once more before biting into his cookie again. "So this is called a cookie. It's so tasty, I love it!"

Daisuke stared open-mouthed at the in-training Digimon. It was ridiculous seeing the blue creature munching away on the chocolate chip cookie, oblivious to the mess he had made and not even bothered that Daisuke was holding a broom which was a potential weapon. He shook his head and blinked, hoping that he was just hallucinating. To his chagrin, Demiveemon had just finished a cookie and taken enough, leaving only 2 on the floor with the glass shards all over the place.

After devouring the cookie, Demiveemon burped and licked the crumbs around his mouth before jumping onto the sofa. "I'm going to take a nap right now…" with that said, he crashed immediately, snoring lightly.

Daisuke decided to ignore the absurdity of the situation and clean up the mess. He picked up the remaining two cookies and dusted them off. He was about to pop one into his mouth but he glanced in the direction of the sleeping Digimon and placed them on a plate. He then swept the glass shard away.

After that, he sat down on the couch and stared at the little Digimon, trying to picture life onwards. The little guy could eat a lot, as he proved with the cookies and so could Davis. This meant that more food had to be stored at home to satisfy the needs of both.

Daisuke's stomach rumbled at the thought of food, and he realized that he hadn't had his dinner yet. Heating up some leftovers from the fridge using the microwave oven, he made himself a simple meal. _I really have to find where that money is hidden,_ he thought.

"Food…" came Demiveemon's sleepy voice from the couch. The in-training Digimon had begun sleepwalking and was headed in the direction of Daisuke's dinner. Daisuke quickly ate what he could before the sleepwalker reached him. He was half done before Demiveemon climbed onto the table and reached for the plate. The boy grabbed the Digimon and placed him back on the sofa, but Demiveemon just got back up again and followed him, eyes closed.

Daisuke grabbed his plate and went to his room. Locking the door, the spiky haired boy sat down on his bed and relaxed. Demiveemon shouldn't be able to get in now. After a few bites, somebody began pounding on the door. Daisuke stared at the doorknob as it wriggled and turned slightly, was unable to rotate completely due to the lock. A few terse moments later, it stopped and peace returned. Daisuke turned away and finished his food silently.

Done with his meal, Daisuke opened his room door slightly, peeking to see if Demiveemon was around. He walked into the kitchen and found Chibimon lying on an empty plate, cookie crumbs smeared all over his mouth. The Digimon was snoring, with a fluctuating bubble coming from his nose.

Shaking his head in amusement and mild annoyance, Daisuke cleaned up and carried the sleeping Demiveemon to his room. He placed him on the bed and changed into nightwear that he found in the cupboard, before climbing into bed as well. Thankfully, the snoring had subsided and was replaced by slow breathing. Daisuke had to admit that the sleeping Digimon looked absolutely _adorable._

Daisuke stared at the ceiling, mulling over the fact that reality had changed and only he knew it. Now, he had a baby rabbit-dragon to take care of. He wondered where Taichi was, when his supposed parents would be back and how was he going to explain to Kari and TK that he had a new blue friend.

Closing his eyes, sleep overtook him soon enough.

* * *

 **The next morning…**

Daisuke barely made it to class on time. He had realized when he arrived at the gates that he didn't know where is classroom was. He was on the verge of panicking when he heard a beep from his phone and checked it. The screen displayed a text from Kari, 'V R IN CLASS. WHR R U?' He typed back quickly, 'WHICH CLASSROOM ARE U IN?' The reply came back almost instantly. '… 3RD FLR, HALL 5. BE QUICK.'

Dashing through the hallways, Daisuke reached his lecture hall just in time. Unlike normal schools, the academia resembled more of a university. Upon arrival, he saw that most of his classmates had arrived. His friends were sitting at the frontal section of the class. TK waved at him while Kari pointed at the empty seat that she had saved for him.

Still out of breath, Daisuke sat down heavily next to Kari. His tongue lolled out comically as he wiped his sweaty forehead. The girl shook her head reprimanding him, "Does your memory loss include the location of your classroom?"

Daisuke nodded, because it was partially true. He hadn't known where he was supposed to be, for he had never even heard of the academia's existence until yesterday, much less stepped foot inside. Well, it was that and he had spent a lot of time trying to find a suitable hiding place for Demiveemon. The little fellow had insisted on accompanying him wherever he went. In the end, the boy had chucked the In-Training Digimon up a tree at the gates and told him to stay put before rushing off.

"Well, I'm not late and that's what matters most, right?" Kari rolled her eyes, causing Daisuke to raise an eyebrow. Hikari had never rolled her eyes at him he remembered that she was _Kari_ , not his old friend.

TK chuckled lightly and said, "Another few minutes and you're toast. You know how particular Mr. Jin is about punctuality."

"You're absolutely right, Mr. Takaishi." Physics teacher Mr. Daigo Jin had walked into the room while they were busy talking. TK blushed while some students snickered. The teacher continued, "Now I would like everyone to settle down. Today's lecture is about…"

The day flew by quickly and at the end of the day, Daisuke and his two pals trudged down the hallway towards the main gate. Most of the students filed out of the Academia hurriedly, anxious to get home. Daisuke heard some muttering around him, and he turned towards the source. Two girls were huddling together and talking in low voices. He caught bits of the conversation like "canteen raided", "small blue monster", "last seen in the backyard" and "high pitched cries of 'food!'".

Eyes widening in shock, Daisuke immediately understood the situation. He stopped in his tracks, causing TK and Kari to bump into him from behind. "What's wrong, Davis?" the girl questioned. Daisuke instinctively wanted to correct her about his name but he stopped. "I just realized that I forgot something." He turned and ran in the opposite direction. "You guys can go home first. I'll catch up later," he called over his shoulder.

TK and Kari stared at Davis' retreating figure for a moment before the latter shrugged. "Well, I suppose we should go," he said, to which Kari nodded slowly. The two of them walked off, thinking about Davis and his recently erratic behaviour.

* * *

Daisuke sped down the hallway. Pain from cramps tugged at his side but he ignored it and continued to charge along the nearly empty corridor. Suddenly, a girl walked out of a classroom and directly into his path. Unable to change his course, Daisuke crashed headlong into her. The books and papers she had been holding went flying and scattered all across the floor.

Sprawled on the floor, Daisuke groaned and picked himself up. He was about to snap at the girl about watching where she was going but he paused when she asked, "I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" Daisuke found himself looking at a lavender haired girl who was peering at him concernedly through her glasses.

The boy swallowed his remark and stuttered that he was fine. _I had rammed into her yet she is apologizing?_ He quickly helped to collect the fallen books and sheets of papers, but not without stealing a few glances at the female. She had a slender form and was pretty tall, and she wore a Yankees cap. His heart skipped a beat when their eyes met and he turned away quickly.

After he handed the girl's belongings back to her, he apologized for making a mess before running in the direction of the school yard. He made his way to the rear of the Academia and paused to catch his breath. There was nobody else there and the grassy field was deserted. 10 metres in front of him from him was a fence that separated the Academia from the small forest beyond and a sign that said "DANGER. DO NOT ENTER THE FOREST ALONE."

Daisuke yelled, "Demiveemon! Where are you?" There wasn't any response, so he tried again. "Demiveemon, I brought you food!"

The result was instantaneous. The blue Digimon leapt out from wherever he was hiding in and into Daisuke's open arms. "FEED ME!" He bellowed. Instead, all he got was a crashing down on his little head. "What were you thinking!?" The boy exclaimed, "You almost got caught. Didn't I tell you to stay put and hide?"

The Digimon tried to rub his throbbing head with his two stubs for hands but failed. "But Davis—" Daisuke cringed slightly at the name. He had told Demiveemon to call him that to not raise suspicion. "—I was hungry! And you were away for so long."

Daisuke's mouth twitched. Apparently bringing Demiveemon to school wasn't a good idea, but he couldn't leave him at home either. "I promise I'll get you food, so don't you ever steal okay? Stealing is bad."

"But the food was just left the—"

"No. Stealing."

Demiveemon pouted. "Fine, I won't steal."

Satisfied, Daisuke asked Demiveemon to hide in his bag. He returned to the campus but a voice stopped him in his tracks. "You with the bag, stop!" Daisuke turned towards the source and saw a silver haired boy approaching him cautiously. "What do you have in your bag?"

Daisuke's heart nearly stopped. _Someone saw me!_ "Um, nothing much. Just books and stuff."

Narrowing his eyes, the other boy said, "That stuff includes a talking blue creature that is _not_ an animal. I heard you talking to it." He held out an umbrella that Daisuke hadn't seen him carrying and held it defensively across his chest. "Show yourself!" He ordered Demiveemon.

Feeling his bag wriggle slightly, Daisuke sighed in defeat. _So much for trying to keep him a secret._ Slowly, he brought Demiveemon out. He introduced, "This is Demiveemon. Demiveemon, this is… who are you again?"

The platinum blonde took a step back and spoke, "I am Xavier." He pointed the umbrella at the Digimon pale green eyes staring intently and asked, "You're one of them right? The… _monsters_ that attacked a few years ago."

Daisuke slowly realized that Xavier was referring to the invasion of Vamdemon three years ago. So the event had occurred, he thought. History hadn't been changed after all, but that still didn't explain the sudden existence of the Odaiba Academia. Also, he hadn't even related the event to Demiveemon. It hadn't crossed his mind that Demiveemon was one of those creatures that had abducted him last time.

Demiveemon seemed to notice Daisuke's unease for he twisted around to face the boy. "That's not true! I'm a Digimon but I'm not bad! Digimon are nice creatures!" He cried out. Xavier took this as an entry point, saying, "How can we trust you? Who can prove that you're not with the monsters?"

The world around Daisuke froze. He gazed down into the Demiveemon's huge red eyes, looking uncertain. The Digimon was positively tearing up now and his lips were quivering.

 _Can I trust him?_

He didn't get much time to think about it because the weak point in the barrier between two worlds shattered and an Ogremon came out of the restroom, roared and held its club up high.

* * *

 _Not long before..._

"Master, I have located a weak point in the barrier between the our world and the Human World." Ogremon knelt on one knee with his head bowed as he addressed his master. They were in a gloomy cave. There was barely any light and the torches on the walls provided little illumination. On a stone throne deep in the cave sat a hulking humanoid figure. He had four arms and miniature flames danced around his body. He was Lord Asuramon, an Ultimate level Digimon and one of the Generals chosen by Yggdrasil.

"Good, now scout ahead in the Human World and report back to me. When Lord Yggdrasil gives the signal, we shall commence our assault on the humans," Asuramon rumbled. He wore the Face of Anger, although his voice hinted that he was pleased that Ogremon had succeeded in his task.

"Yes, my master." Ogremon stood up and retreated. he exited the cave and walked into the woods where the weak point was. It was actually a small distortion that hung suspended in the air, not big enough to be noticed yet clear to those who sought it out. He had observed the rift expand at sporadic times, seeing some small Digimon get sucked through and never seen again. It usually happened once in a few days, but the frequency seemed to be increasing lately. He sat under a tree nearby, keeping his eyes on the rift. He waited and waited. Seconds turned to minutes, minutes turned into hours, but there was no sign of the hole in space and time enlarging at all. Finally, his patience could take it no more. Ogremon stood up and got ready to leave. He could always try again some other time.

Unexpectedly, the distortion flared up, turning into a irregularly shaped portal. Ogremon paused in his tracks and whirled around, not believing his luck. He lunged towards the hole and leapt through, seconds before the portal shrank and closed, turning back into a small crack.

Ogremon floated down the tunnel between worlds weightlessly, his momentum and intertia carrying him towards the other side. _This sure is a weird experience,_ he thought.

The green ogre was ejected out of the wormhole and appeared in a white space of confinement. After looking closely, he realized he was in a toilet. The seats however, were much smaller than those in his world, he noted. The stench of waste filled his nose and he barged out of the doors. He was met with the sight of two young humans, one of which held a small blue Digimon. He decided that it woud be fun to scare the wits out of them.

He roared and raised his club to attack.

* * *

 **Principal's Office**

Principal Genji looked up from his paperwork. The briefcase on his table was vibrating violently. Blue light shone from the gap between the casing and an electronic rhythm came from the contents inside. Tentatively opening the briefcase, Genji shielded his eyes from the glare of blue light. Sitting in the foam were five Digivices, codenamed D-3's. In order from left to right were red, blue and yellow while the second row had green and pink. The blue one was glowing and on the screen was a red arrow pointing to the rear section of the school.

 _Could it be that the first has awakened?_

Grabbing his cloak and the Digivice from the case, Genji headed out. It was time for the Grand Principal Genji Naigo to take a long vacation and for Gennai to take his place. Internally, he hoped that no one would piece the puzzle together andfigure him out.

Activating his hologram collar, Genji's middle aged face was replaced by a young man's—Gennai's. It was a precaution just in case his hood fell back and revealed his face.

 _Genji is gone for now. I am Gennai._

* * *

 **In the school compound**

The green Champion level Digimon swung its club at the kids. Xavier ran off screaming but Daisuke was petrified with shock. "Davis, look out!" Demiveemon shrieked but the boy remained fixed at his spot. Just as the weapon descended, something – _somebody_ collided with Daisuke and he was thrown to the side. The club crashed onto the floor, creating a cloud of dust upon impact.

He landed on his back hard, grunting in pain. The person who had rammed him looked up and adjusted her askew glasses. _It's the girl I ran into not along ago,_ he realized. The girl in question scrambled to her feet and motioned forhim to follow. The dust was beginning to clear and the Ogremon had just realized his targets had not been squashed into pancakes. Daisuke, with Demiveemon in his arms, and the girl ran for their lives and hid in a vacant room after a left turn. Inside, there were work benches and laboratory euipment.

 _We are in the Chemistry Lab,_ Daisuke thought.

Once inside, the female closed the door and collapsed on her knees, gasping for breath. Daisuke fell onto his bottom and wiped the sweat off his face. "What the heck was that thing?" he asked. Demiveemon jumped onto his shoulder and answered shakily, "That was Ogremon, champion level Digimon. He's easily agitated and has a kill-on-sight attitude." The girl moved over to face him. "Is that what you are too? A Digimon?" He nodded, but smiled, "I'm a good Digimon, not like Orgremon."

Not buying it, the girl narrowed her eyes, "A good Digimon, I doubt that. You're the one who stole my lunch earlier today." Demiveemon gulped visibly and hid behind Daisuke. "W-was that m-me? I-I think you g-got the wrong D-Digimon," he stammered, eyes darting to the sides.

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "Ahem," he spoke and their attention was directed to him. He glared down at Demiveemon first and the blue Digimon shrank. He then addressed the female, "I ran into you earlier. Are you alright? Why are you still here?"

Holding her hands up defensively, she responded, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. I'm fine, thank you for asking. As for why I'm here, I wanted to return this to you." She reached into her pocket and brought out a brown wallet.

Daisuke patted his thigh and realised that he had indeed lost his wallet. "You dropped this and ran like you were being chased by an ogre," she stated. They both smiled at the irony of the statement. Daisuke accepted his wallet politely and a thought hit him. "I didn't catch your name. May I know who you are? I am—"

"Davis Kamiya from class 5A right?" she interrupted. He stared at her blankly and she realized that she wasn't supposed to know him. "I saw your ID, it was in your wallet," she pointed out. "I'm Yolei, by the way. Yolei Inoue, class 6A." Demiveemon popped out and introduced himself, but he was quickly snagged by Yolei. She began shaking him vigorously. _That's what you get for stealing my lunch, you little maggot,_ she thought furiously. When she stopped, the Digimon's eyes were rolling in circles. "I'm sorry… I won't… Do it again…" he slurred dizzily.

For the umpteenth time, Daisuke rolled his eyes and peeked out of the door. He saw Ogremon slump past the corridor, not bothering to turn left. He closed the door as gently as possible, trying not to make a sound. A barely audible click came from the locks and Daisuke winced. Usually it was this type of situation that got movie and story characters in trouble.

He motioned for Demiveemon and Yolei to hide and turned off the lights. He did the same just in time as the door was smashed open. Ogremon walked in slowly and sniffed the air. "I can smell you. I know you're in here," the champion said in a gruff voice. Yolei, Daisuke and Demiveemon inched closer to the opening as Ogremon slowly trudged toward them. They crept around the workbenches, trying to stay out of sight.

Cursing silently, Daisuke figured they needed a distraction in order to get to the exit. Spying a rubber band and some paper in the trash bin near them, he had an idea. He'd have to wash his hands later, but he soon had a mini slingshot ready. He whispered to Yolei, "I'll shoot something to make some noise, then we're going to lunge for the exit." The Inoue girl was eying a conical flask of chemicals but she nodded to show she heard him.

Daisuke hurriedly aimed at an empty beaker across the laboratory, as well as he could without getting spotted. _Here goes nothing,_ he thought as he fired the paper bullet. His aim was perfect, for he knocked the beaker off the table. As expected, the resounding crash of glass shattering attracted the Digimon's attention and he stomped over, club ready to attack.

"Run!" Daisuke hissed when Ogremon had put enough distance between them. The pair crawled quickly towards the exit. On their way, Yolei grabbed two conical flasks off the shelves. Unfortunately, she clinked the adjacent glass containers and Ogremon turned towards them.

"You ruined it!" Daisuke groaned, but was surprised when Yolei responded, "Not exactly." She poured the contents of one flask into the other, swirled it a bit and hurled it at Ogremon. The flask landed short but putrid fumes smelling like rotten eggs filled the laboratory rapidly. Ogremon stumbled and choked as the nasty odour penetrated his nostrils while the fumes blinded him temporarily.

"Genius!" exclaimed Daisuke as he grabbed Demiveemon in one hand and Yolei's in the other and leapt through the Ogremon-shaped hole where the door once was. The duo ran for the school entrance this time, only pausing to hit the emergency alarm button. Sirens blared and red lights shone from warning lamps on the ceiling. Water drizzled from the sprinklers overhead as the remaining occupants in the Academia evacuated to safety.

Daisuke and Yolei made it outside. They sat down next to each other heavily from the constant running that they had been doing. "That was awesome! How did you know what to do?" the boy asked Yolei. She smiled and replied, "Luckily for us, we just had a lab session this morning. I learned a bit about smelly fumes and reactions that cause them. They don't call me the Chemistry Wiz for nothing!" She laughed and hugged Daisuke.

Suddenly aware that they were in public, they broke apart and blushed furiously. Fortunately for them, not many people were around to witness it. A hooded man who was standing nearby however, chuckled lightly at the scene. He turned back to the glowing blue device in his hand. An arrow was pointing towards the kids near him. He eyed them warily, as one of them could be the person he was seeking.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as the maroon haired boy scratched his head and the lavender haired girl twirled a few strands of her long hair nervously. Then, he spotted _it._ A blue little creature poked its head into sight from between the two kids. _That's a Digimon with them,_ he thought in triumph. _I've found the one. But who is it – the boy or the girl?_

At that moment, Ogremon leapt through a window from the second floor and landed on the concrete floor hard, leaving a crater on the ground. He had welts all over his face and arms due to the chemicals, and his features displayed even more fury than before.

Gennai groaned inwardly. Damage control and repairs were going to cost a lot. _The Board isn't going to be happy,_ he frowned.

The Ogremon spotted the duo sitting on the grass and charged, roaring angrily. Daisuke and Yolei got up immediately and ran, but Demiveemon stood his ground. Yolei and Daisuke halted and turned back at him. "Demiveemon, what are you doing?" Daisuke asked. The baby Digimon, not taking his eyes off the charging Ogremon replied, "I'm done running. I want to fight!" He began to glow and transform into a larger blue dragon.

"Demiveemon digivolve to… Veemon!" His limb stubs grew into larger five-fingered hands, a white V-shape appeared on his forehead and a small horn protruded from his snout. He balled his fists and ran at the opposing Digimon. Ogremon brought his club down but Veemon was much faster. He leapt to the side and launched a Vee Punch at the ogre's face. Spit flew from his mouth as the Champion stumbled backwards, clearly surprised by the ferocity of the Rookie's attack.

"Nice shot, Veemon!" Daisuke cheered from the sidelines. Veemon grinned and gave his pal a thumbs-up.

A now really pissed-off Ogremon roared again and lunged at Veemon. "Vee Head-butt!" The bipedal dragon responded by dodging the clumsy swings and head-butted his opponent's abdomen. Ogremon fell to his knees and clutched his stomach, cursing under his breath. Veemon resumed his fighting stance and got ready to launch another attack. He didn't expect Ogremon to throw the club like a boomerang at him. When he halted his attack to avoid the projectile, massive green hands suddenly grabbed him and squeezed. He cried out in pain while Daisuke and Yolei yelled horrified.

Ogremon brought Veemon closer to his face and sneered, "You've been a pain in my side for too long, child. I was surprised to see a surviving descendant of the Veemon clan, but their legacy ends NOW!" He pitched the rookie at a tree and Veemon hit the trunk hard.

"No!" Daisuke ran towards the fallen Digimon and cradled the injured Veemon. The dragon's eyes opened slightly to look at him and grinned, "Guess I was no match for Ogremon, huh?" Daisuke shook his head, comforting his friend. "You did well, for a first fight. This is your first battle, right?" Veemon nodded weakly, glancing at Yolei who had just knelt to look at him. "Hey Yolei, sorry for taking your lunch. The tempura was nice." The girl teared up a bit, scolding him, "Don't talk like that. It's not over yet."

"How sad. Let me finish what I started." Ogremon had retrieved his bone club and walked slowly towards the trio. Daisuke handed Veemon to Yolei and stood up. He held his hands up defensively, trying to protect his friends. "I'll not let you hurt anybody," he said determinedly.

Ogremon eyed the boy. He had courage, all right. Too bad he had to die. "Bone Mace!" The club was sent spinning like a boomerang towards Daisuke, who closed his eyes and waited for the impact.

It never came.

He opened his eyes slowly. A bruised Veemon held the weapon in one hand raised over his blue head. "Nobody hurts my friends. And don't you even dare hurt my PARTNER!"

For the first time in that history, a bond between human and Digimon was formed through sheer willpower. The desire to protect brought forth a stronger power, the power of Miracles! Veemon's decision to be Daisuke's partner had triggered a reaction that overrode whatever destiny and fate had in mind. Instead of bonding with his true partner Davis Kamiya, he had bonded with _Motomiya Daisuke._

* * *

The blue Digivice in Gennai's hand shot out of his grip in a streak of blue light, right into Daisuke's hand. Daisuke gazed at his new possession in shock and awe. Its screen displaying the word DIGIVOLUTION, the device began to vibrate.

* * *

For the second time, Veemon glowed white and blue as he Digivolved. "Veemon digivolve to… Exveemon!" His body became more humanoid and he grew large leathery wings. The horn on his snout grew larger, gleaming in the sunlight. "Damn, I look so cool," he exclaimed checking himself out. The digivolution had revitalised Exveemon, he felt like he could take on a dozen Ogremon at once.

Daisuke wolf-whistled and Yolei stared in awe. Even the enemy Digimon looked dumbstruck at the newly Digivolved Exveemon. "It's impossible! The Emperor said you couldn't Digivolve!"

Exveemon gave him a fanged grin. "I'm full of surprises." After throwing away the club he was holding, he sent a volley of punches at Ogremon and followed up with a powerful strike using his tail. Ogremon tumbled to his side, groaning and struggling to get to his feet. "I will destroy you!" he shrieked and lunged, intent to kill. Exveemon dodged easily, flying around Ogremon and kicking him in the rump.

Humiliated, the green Champion swiped blindly at his enemy, but Exveemon caught his arms and smashed his knee into Ogremon's chin, knocking out a tooth.

The hideous Digimon stumbled back, roaring in anger. "This has gone far enough! Ogremon SMASH!" He leapt high into the air and prepared to crush Exveemon into a pulp.

Daisuke yelled, "Exveemon, finish him off!"

"I know," his partner agreed, "VEE LASER!" The symbol on Exveemon's chest that resembled a V-shape extended into a cross, turned bright yellow. Crossing his arms, Exveemon charged his finishing move before unleashing a blast of energy at Ogremon. The enemy Digimon was airborne, thus unable to evade the laser stream. He screamed in pain and disintegrated into particles.

Instinctively, Exveemon absorbed the data. He didn't know why he did it, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Immediately after that, he devolved back into a tired and hungry Demiveemon.

Daisuke and Yolei hurried over to where the baby Digimon sat on the grass. The boy picked his partner up and smiled, "You were great out there. That was one of the coolest things I'd ever seen." Demiveemon smiled back at him, too exhausted to reply. His eyes drooped and sleep overcame him.

Yolei stroked the dragon's head affectionately. "Nice job, Vee," she said softly. "Vee?" Daisuke questioned her, getting a shrug in response. "Hey, it's better than calling him Demiveemon all the time, right?" Daisuke nodded slowly in agreement, "Yeah I could live with that."

Gennai who had witnessed the entire scene wordlessly came up to them and said softly, "Well done, kid. You're the first to awaken." Daisuke became wary of him and asked, "Who are you?"

Realizing that he still had his hood on, Gennai cleared his throat threw it back and revealed his false countenance. "My name is Gennai. I believe you have many questions regarding the incident, but I can answer them for you. Meet me outside Principal Genji's office tomorrow after school. We have a lot to discuss, so please be there.

"The same goes to you, girl since you're this deep in the whole incident already." He scrutinised Yolei's face, thinking about how she'd fit in. _Usually a person who has contact with Digimon has a fair chance to become a Chosen. I'll have to keep an eye on this one, in case she awakens as a Digidestined._ "That'll be it, please refrain from causing more trouble. Now get out of here before people start swarming the place."

The boy and girl nodded and slipped off to avoid unwanted attention. Gennai then surveyed the place, thinking about damage control.

As if his mind had been read, a DATS, the Digimon Accident Tactics Squad van pulled up near the entrance. The place had been sealed off by the police, but three uniformed teenagers bypassed security and made their way towards him. "How is the situation being handled, Gennai?" The girl in a pink uniform asked.

Gennai smiled faintly, in his thoughts appraising DATS' quick response when it comes to Digimon attacks. _I'm glad that they're still as efficient, but it's not as if good old Sampson would slack off. That guy's a workaholic._ "The subject has been dealt with, Yoshino. No need to worry." The blond teen asked, "Where's the egg?" Gennai's smile faded as he heard some rustling from the bushes. "Not here, Thomas. Let's discuss this privately." He trailed off, beckoning for the three of them to follow. They walked off together, but the last member of the trio paused and stared at the clearing. "What is it, Marcus?" Yoshino asked

Marcus eyed the tree and bushes a moment longer before punching his palm. "It's nothing, I guess." He turned to catch up with the others.

Meanwhile in the bushes, Xavier mentally cursed himself for making noise. He could have gotten more information about the case. It would be foolish to attempt to spy on Gennai (as the hooded man called himself) and the others for now.

 _No matter, I will find out more sooner or later. All these cases of freak accidents and inexplicable ignorance of the public, something is wrong._

When he was younger, he had hid himself during the assault of monsters. After that, people seemed to take the whole incident as though it was another day in Japan. He soon found out that nobody remembered the monsters. Some people said it was a car accident, some said that animals escaped from a zoo. Others just didn't want to talk about it. Xavier then kept a low profile and bottled up his secret, reminding himself every day that there were monsters out there.

 _I will get to the bottom of this_ , he vowed. _Now at least I know who I can drill for information_.

He walked home, thinking about a certain brown haired boy and his blue pet.

* * *

A/N: How was that? Liked it? Disliked it? Leave a review please! Thanks

Next update will be on Davis' side.

Estimated Davis update: 1 week later.

Estimated Daisuke update: three weeks from now.


	3. Chapter 3: Not What It Seems

_A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I usually PM any reviewers to answer their questions and doubts, so that I can keep my notes to the minimum. This chapter explains a bit about Ken when he wakes up, without any memory of his time as the Digimon Kaiser. Read on to find out!_

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Digimon Franchise, but I own this story's plot and anything else I made up._

* * *

CHAPTER 3: Not What It Seems

 **Ichijouji Residence, Davis' World**

In Tamachi, things weren't going well for Ichijouji Ken. He woke up feeling strangely blissful, a feeling he had not experienced since his brother died. He didn't really have memories of the night before, and he just didn't want to think of it. Simply put, Ken was at _peace._

It didn't last for long, for Sam Ichijouji appeared at his door and said, "Get up, kid. You're going to be late for school." Ken's jaw dropped.

 _Osamu is alive?_

"Y-you're not dead. But I saw you. You got hit by the car," the younger Ichijouji stuttered.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Yeah, nice dream bro. Now get moving, you're going to be late." He disappeared round the corner and left Ken staring at the doorway.

 _This isn't right. Osamu is dead. He got killed saving me._

Throwing back the covers, Ken leapt off the top bunk of the double decker he shared with his supposedly late-brother. He stumbled a bit upon landing, causing him more surprise.

 _I've lost a bit of my perfect body control_ , thought the raven haired boy. Dismissing it as drowsiness from waking up, he hurried after Sam.

The moment he set foot in the dining room, he was met with the sight his brother spreading jam on his toast, his mother washing the dishes while humming a tune that suspiciously sounded like the Ghostbusters theme.

Sam turned towards his brother and raised an eyebrow. "Still in pyjamas? Have you washed up yet?"

Ken slowly reached out to touch his brother's shoulder. "Is it… Is it really you?"

The older boy's eyebrow went even further up his head. "No, it's the pizza man. Of course it's me, dummy. Who were you expect-" he stopped in surprise when Ken threw his arms around him. The younger boy sobbed into his shoulder.

"There, there. It must have been a really bad dream to cause you this much grief," Osamu patted his sibling's head affectionately. Mrs Ichijouji smiled at her sons, watching them from the sink.

Sam broke the hug, wiping his younger brother's tears from his cheek. "You're okay, kid. You're okay. Now, why don't you go get ready for school? We'll have breakfast and leave," he said gently. Ken nodded and headed off to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Ken stared at his reflection in the mirror, thinking about Osamu. _He's real,_ the prodigy thought. _This isn't a dream._

He thought about his life as he brushed his teeth. At a young age, he witnessed his brother's demise in a car accident. The tragedy had left him scarred for life.

 _It was my fault,_ he thought miserably. _I wished for him to be gone._ Ken had always wanted the affection his parents gave his genius brother. He even worked hard to be good at everything but was always overshadowed by Osamu's achievements.

After Osamu died, he couldn't really recall what had happened. In fact, he didn't even know when his stroke of genius first appeared. One day he was normal Ken then the next day, he realised he had perfect locomotion, a prodigious mind and an inflated ego.

He paused for a moment. _Wasn't I supposed to be doing something?_ _I think I had a game or something… I can't remember._

On top of that, Osamu had suddenly returned to the land of the living. He also seemed to be different. _Older and kinder._

 _Could history have changed? I'm really not dreaming this up, am I?_ Ken pondered as he bent down to the sink to wash his face.

The cool feeling of water on his cheeks told him it was real.

He didn't have more time to think because Osamu knocked on the door yelling, "Ken, I really have to use the toilet right now. Can you please hurry up? It's 7.40 and school starts at 8!"

Ken sighed fondly. _I hope this lasts forever._

He opened the door and stepped out for a very desperate Osamu.

* * *

 **Tamachi Primary, Davis' World**

Ken noticed that he was slipping. What once was very easy for him had doubled in difficulty. He mind was sluggish and he couldn't comprehend the teachings of his teacher as quickly as he did before.

It didn't make things better when the teacher called him out to solve a complicated maths problem. He had to think for some time before he got the answer, which bothered him a lot.

In PE class, he was no longer the top athlete. More than a few occasions he had stumbled. His skills at soccer though, fortunately, hadn't diminished.

 _I'm losing it. I'm going back to becoming normal Ken again,_ the boy panicked slightly.

Could it be that he only became a genius in the absence of Osamu? Now that his brother was back somehow, he was losing the qualities that made him the perfect boy prodigy? Was is possible that Ken only managed to shine without the Osamu's shadow over him?

He had always been shunned by the rest of society because his older brother was the better one. People had never really paid the younger boy attention when there was _Oh Osamu, you're a genius,_ and even after he supposedly died Ken always got compared to his late brother.

Osamu had told him to go back home earlier, since the older boy would be staying in school for a while. Ken mulled over all this on his way home, and he bumped into a man in a purple trench coat. The middle-ager had a pale complexion, his thin hair hung loosely on his head. The man gazed down at him expressionlessly.

 _He looks like a vampire,_ Ken thought. _A sickly vampire._

Apologizing softly, he continued his journey home. He felt a hand clamp on his shoulder, stopping him. "Ken Ichijouji, right?"

Ken turned around warily. "Do I know you?"

"No… But I've been monitoring you for some time. You possess the qualities I need for my Shadow Knight."

Ken took a step back. "What are you talking about?"

The man took a name card from his chest pocket and handed it to the dark haired boy. "Visit the website. Type 'Shadow Knight' into the search box the top right of the page. The password is Stingmon. Tell no living soul, and make sure you're alone should you choose to accept." He glared menacingly at the boy before taking his leave.

Ken studied the card. Printed on it in bold letters was FUTURE WORLD INDUSTRIES, along with the address, phone number and webpage address. He was about to question the man, but the fellow was nowhere in sight.

 _Weird._

Then, _I haven't heard of any company named Future World Industries before._

Pocketing the name card, Ken resumed his walk home.

* * *

Daisuke walked back to his apartment with a sleeping Demiveemon in his arms and a very quiet Yolei by his side. After some time, the girl spoke up, "What are you going to do when you get home?" Shrugging, he replied, "Probably sleep and do my homework."

"No, I mean what are you going to do with Vee? Your parents can't know about him, or they'll freak out."

Looking down at the sleeping Digimon, Daisuke pondered the question. "I don't know," he admitted, "I could hide him in my room, and only let him out when we're alone."

Yolei raised an eyebrow. "What about school time? You know how well hiding him in the school compound turned out," she joked half-heartedly.

Daisuke thought for a while. "Maybe I could keep him in my locker."

Vee squirmed in his sleep and muttered, "I hate lockers. What is a locker?"

The boy and girl tried very hard not to burst out laughing. Soon, they reached the complex and Daisuke said, "See you tomorrow, Yolei."

"Don't be silly Davis. I'm coming with you. My parents won't be back until night time and I have nothing to do since I've done all my homework. Besides, home is a bit cramped up with so many siblings."

Daisuke made an "O" with his mouth. Yolei happily pointed out when they reached that her home was in the same building.

He invited her into his apartment, telling take a seat. In the comfort of the living room, that was when they realised they were grimy and dirty from their little escapade. "I think I should really go back and clean up. I'm filthy," Yolei said. "I'll be back in a while."

Sure enough, in half an hour they were both seated comfortably in the living room, feeling fresh after a shower and change of clothes. Yolei had brought a bag of goodies from the convenience store her parents owned. The smell of food brought Vee to his senses and he began to dig through the bag with vigour.

"With Vee around, I will go broke. This little fella is a glutton. You should have seen the way he acted when we first met. He tried to steal my dinner, which was _leftovers_ ," Daisuke moaned, "and he was still _asleep._ "

Yolei giggled, "I could help you out a bit. My parents won't mind if I take a few snacks, as long as they're not the fast selling ones."

Daisuke whistled, "Must be great for you then, being able to take candy anytime you want."

"Yep, it sounds great! I envy you, yep yep yep." Vee added, with chocolate cookie crumbs all over his face. _Man, does Vee like cookies,_ Daisuke thought.

"Not really, I have to help out at the store. It's a family business, and we don't hire people."

There was a short moment of silence. Daisuke leaned back on the sofa and rested his legs on the coffee table. "I wonder who that uncle was. He told us to gather at the Principal's office tomorrow. I don't even know where the office is."

"I do," Yolei and Vee said together. The humans looked at the Digimon in surprise. "And how would you know?" Daisuke inquired.

Vee extended a long tongue and licked all the crumbs off his face. Yolei shuddered slightly while Daisuke made a face. "I went exploring when you were in school. The place is huge, and there were many hiding spots. I also found a secret stash of sweet stuff in cans in the Janitor storeroom, saw two girls sucking each other's face in the toilets and witnessed the cook scratching his butt before kneading the dough."

Yolei turned a pale shaded of green while Daisuke face-palmed. Vee continued without noticing their expressions. "I also saw another Digimon, it was a Poromon. He told me that there were a few other Digimon in school. He took me to their hiding spot, which was near the Principal's office. There I met an Upamon, a Tokomon, a Minomon and a Salamon."

Daisuke groaned, "Great, now there are more of you. Please don't tell me you ransacked the cafeteria."

Vee suddenly seemed very interested in his potato chips.

"Why you little—"

Yolei chose to interrupt. "Wait, what does this mean for Japan? If more Digimon are appearing, does it mean that more people will be like Davis?"

Daisuke looked at her. "What about me?"

"Getting partnered to a Digimon," she explained. "You're the first of the partnered pairs, so there will definitely be more people who are destined to pair up with a Digimon."

Daisuke grinned slowly, "Yeah, that's it! I could be the boss, the first one to ever have a partner. They'll all bow before me!" He got up on the sofa and struck a superhero pose, cackling madly. Vee bounced in glee as well, cheering his partner on while Yolei shook her head, a bemused expression on her face.

"I would love to have a partner of my own. A cute one like Vee, but not as greedy for food…" Yolei trailed off dreamily.

Suddenly, the sound of the door unlocking shook her from her thoughts. Daisuke grabbed Demiveemon and scrambled to his room. He chucked the Digimon on his bed. "Do not make a sound or try to come out. I'll come in later when the coast is clear," the goggle-head warned and closed the door.

The boy walked out into the living room just as the Kamiyas entered the apartment. "I'm home," Mrs Kamiya said, while Mr Kamiya struggled with the luggage. "Welcome back, M—mom," Daisuke responded, almost calling her Mrs Yagami. _That was close._

Mrs Kamiya noticed Yolei sitting in the living room. "Oh hello, are you Davis' friend?"

Yolei stood up and bowed. "I'm Yolei Inoue. Pleased to meet you."

"Inoue? Is it your family that owns the shop around the bend?"

"Yeah, that's my Papa and Mama's shop."

Mrs Kamiya smiled, "You'll be glad to hear that we're regular customers there. Your goods are fresh and reasonably priced."

While the older woman and the girl chatted, Daisuke heard Mr Kamiya calling, "Will someone give me a hand with this?" and went out to help. _It's_ dad _now. Better not slip up._

After a while, the luggage and bags had been dragged into the house, and Yolei decided it was time to head home. "I'll see you tomorrow after school, then." Leaning in closer, she whispered, "Say bye to Vee for me." She winked and left.

Daisuke waved his hand in farewell as the girl jogged away. He closed the door and sighed. Mrs Kamiya spoke up, "The girl was quite cute."

Nodding absently, Daisuke agreed. "Yeah, she was…"

"I thought you were after Kari?"

Daisuke choked on his breath and coughed. "What gave you the idea?" he sputtered.

Mrs Kamiya shrugged, "You two seemed pretty close all this while. I thought you were dating each other or something."

The burgundy haired boy's eye twitched. His face heated up, his mind ran through a few scenarios: him and Kari going to the movies, him and Kari eating lunch at a fancy restaurant, him and Kari _kissing._ "No, we are NOT dating. We're eleven for goodness sake." _Not to mention we are supposed to be biological siblings,_ he added mentally. He practically scampered to his room, leaving Mrs Kamiya with an amused countenance.

* * *

 **Ichijouji Residence**

Ken got home and headed straight to his room. After showering and changing, he had lunch with his mother. His brother wouldn't be back after 5pm, which was three hours later. That left with plenty of time to do his homework.

It didn't take him long to complete it (though he wouldn't admit it, he spent more time than he did before. Soon, he was left twirling his pen at his desk, bored out of his mind. He decided to address the nagging voice at the back of his head. He retrieved the crumpled name card out from the pocket of his school pants and studied it. He finally gave in to curiosity.

 _It's not like I have anything else to do at the moment._

He opened a web browser and typed the site address. The page loaded itself and Ken was impressed by its design. It had the sort of technological and digital look, and interface was something as well. In other words, it looked way ahead of its time.

 _Futuristic, like its name says._

He went through the site, trying to find information about the man he met. _He must work there, otherwise he wouldn't have a name card._ He was right, as he found an article of the man at the Board of Directors page.

"Yukio Oikawa, one of Future World Industries' founders alongside Korita Yamada and Honda Tsuwade. A very talented man, Yukio has help invent various unique household appliances and mini technological marvels (refer our products page)," Ken read.

"Oikawa is the lead inventor of the company, and the person who brought the company out of its financial crisis in 1992. Currently, he is working with numerous scientists and inventors from all around the world on Future World Industries latest project, the Delivery Robot." The article went on to describe Yukio Oikawa's achievements in his career.

 _Why would such a powerful person come to me? What can I offer him?_

Ken glanced at the trophy cabinet on the wall behind him. His brother's winnings were slightly more than his, though he wondered where some of his own had gone to. _I believe I had a few more trophies… Probably because reality has been altered._

He still couldn't believe Osamu was alive. He was at the funeral. He held his late brother's photo at the funeral march himself. How could all that possibly not be real? Subconsciously, he rubbed the back of his neck. He was forgetting something important, and it bothered him.

Putting the thoughts out of his mind, he did what he was supposed to in the first place: he typed Shadow Knight in the search button. His index finger hovered over the enter key hesitantly. Then, he steeled himself and pushed downwards.

His screen blacked out.

Ken's jaw dropped. "What the heck?" He tried slapping his CPU lightly, but nothing happened.

 _Great, my PC is fried. Now what do I do?_

The screen came back to life, and a dialogue box prompted him. "Key in the password," it said.

Ken, who was about to stand up and leave, sat back down. _Password… What did the guy say again?_

He typed in the word 'Sting Morn'.

PASSWORD INCORRECT. 9 TRIES LEFT.

Ken raised an eyebrow. He tried again with 'Stink Morn'.

PASSWORD INCORRECT. 8 TRIES LEFT.

He growled in frustration. "How about 'Sting mon'?'

PASSWORD INCORRECT. 7 TRIES LEFT.

Ken banged his fist on the table. _What is it then?_ Nevertheless, he calmed himself with a deep breath and deleted the space in between the words. 'Stingmon'. _This had better work._

It worked.

A new window popped up, at its centre was a play button. Ken clicked it and the video began. Yukio Oikawa's face appeared on the screen, looking passive. Ken turned up the volume to hear the recording clearly.

"Greetings. If you're watching this video then I have chosen you as my candidate for the Shadow Knight Project. I apologize for what I'm sure looked like a computer breakdown that occurred, but it was a necessary procedure that ensured the playing of this video was secure. It also was to make sure no one else was with you." Ken looked around, suddenly wary of possible hidden devices in his room.

"If you're looking around, don't bother. Future World Industries has many ways to get information and monitor subjects, all of which remain secret to us. But I'll give you a hint: your webcam." Ken covered the lens but Oikawa continued, "Don't bother. We have our methods." He growled in annoyance, feeling powerless.

The man in the recording shifted his position. "Now, the Shadow Knight project is a highly classified project that is not known to many. We usually exterminate any witnesses, as we are efficient in tracking down sources that leak it. Simply put, _accidents happen all the time."_ Ken paled at the thought.

"The person who takes on the mantle of Shadow Knight will gain a power. However, the wielder must be compatible with the power. The fact that I have chosen you means you have the potential to possess it, to become the Shadow Knight. The power give to you should only be used for good. Any sign of abuse shall result in your power being removed and you will return to your normal life without any knowledge of having it in the first place.

"I need your final confirmation. If you accept, you will proceed to a given location for the try-out; if you choose to decline, then any memories of this conversation will be erased from your memory. If you do not chose in 10 seconds, it is an automatic decline." The video ended with a new dialogue box saying: DO YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT OR DECLINE?

Ken contemplated his answer. It was a risky choice. If he accepted, he would become a powerful person with abilities to save the world. But on the other hand, this could be a trick meant to lure others to their doom. Either way he would be sworn to secrecy, and the idea of an _accident_ was really unnerving.

The timer was slowly closing in on zero.

4… 3… 2…

 _Oh, what the hell,_ Ken thought.

He clicked 'ACCEPT' just as the countdown reached 1.

A video box appeared again. Yukio Oikawa smiled faintly, "Smart move. Now memorize the given location, and tell the guard, 'honey goes well with lemon'. This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds." The video player disappeared and a map with an address took its place, with another countdown timer below it.

Ken quickly committed the details to memory and the screen went blank again. A few seconds later, the desktop page reappeared. It was as if nothing had happened. Ken opened the website again and searched Shadow Knight. He was met with no search results.

The dark haired boy groaned. _What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

Daisuke walked to the Academia with Yolei the next day. They happened to meet at the lobby of the apartment. Well, _meet_ was a nice way of saying a sleepy Daisuke bumping into her, literally. Demiveemon hid in his partner's bag, only peeking out occasionally.

At the entrance to the school, they met up with Kari and TK. They were surprised to see Davis walking with another girl. TK noticed that Kari tensed slightly beside him, so he asked, "Hey Davis, who's your friend?"

Daisuke grinned back at him. "Oh, this is Yolei. We met yesterday after you guys left." The tall girl smiled at them and they introduced themselves.

Kari relaxed slightly. "Class 6A? You're our senior then," she exclaimed.

Yolei scratched her chin and pouted, "Aw, you are making me feel old now." The group shared a laugh.

TK asked, "So Davis, did you get what you went back for yesterday?" The blonde saw Davis' cheerful expression vanish for a second, but it returned quickly so he thought he must have imagined it.

"Er… Yeah. Yeah I got it. Hey, why don't we get to class now? School is starting," Davis hastily changed the subject. The others nodded and the group walked toward the Primary Level building.

The Academia was split into three complexes spread out like the diagonals of an equilateral triangle, one for each level of education, namely Primary, Intermediate and Advanced. They were all connected to the main building where the administration offices and staffrooms were. Each building had a cafeteria at ground level, whereas the laboratories were on the first floor. Each building was five stories high, with at least 6 large lecture-hall like classrooms on each level.

The facilities provided by the Odaiba Academia included dorms for those who stayed far away, located between Primary and Advanced. A sports centre was between the Intermediate and Advanced Level buildings, whereas Primary and Intermediate shared a sports field in between.

In the hallway, TK approached a blond teenager that resembled him. He was talking to a red haired girl, and both of them wore green uniforms, identifying them as Intermediate Level students. "Hi Matt, and Sora. You two had better not be making out in public," the younger boy said cheekily.

Matt rolled his eyes and flicked his brother's ear while Sora stuck out her tongue. "Somebody is feeling cheeky today," the older Ishida commented. He turned towards the others. "Hi Kari, Davis and who might you be?"

Daisuke wondered how he knew their names, although he had heard of Yamato from Jun. Unknown to Daisuke, Matt and Sora had heard from Tai about Davis. They had even met when he was younger.

Yolei bowed and smiled. "Yolei Inuoe. Nice to meet you." Then her eyes sparkled, "Oh my, TK is the brother of Matt Ishida, of the Teenage Wolves? That's so cool!"

 _Matt, not Yamato? That's weird._ Then Daisuke remembered that this reality was messed up.

Matt chuckled, "I see you're a fan huh?" Daisuke snorted. _If Yolei is a fan, then Jun is a fanatic._

Sora smiled warmly at her blond friend, "Yeah, he has lots of fan girls. There used to be a mob until he filed a restraining order. Now they just lurk and wait for a chance to strike." Matt shuddered at the thought.

Kari teased him. "At least Jun is not so bad."

Matt nodded. "She even helped me get away from a fan tsunami once."

Daisuke gagged. _Jun? JUN of all people?!_ That turned Sora's attention towards him. "Davis… Any news about Tai yet?" At that, everybody turned to Daisuke.

"Um, no. Not yet, but I'm sure he's fine." They all looked troubled. Daisuke wondered again how she knew that Tai, but he got rid of the thought. Thinking made his head spin. He saw something more than worry in Sora's eyes, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

He felt his backpack wriggle and hurriedly dismissed himself. "You guys get to class first. I'll catch up later. Yolei, See you after school." With that, he rushed to the nearest toilet.

After a moment of silence, Kari said, "There he goes again. Davis is acting weird. _Really_ weird." They all agreed silently, except for Yolei, that it.

* * *

Davis made sure he was alone in the washroom before he locked himself in a cubicle and unzipped the bag. Demiveemon popped his head out. "Vee, I thought I told you not to act up in school. What's the matter?"

Vee squirmed in the bag uneasily. "I heard you talking about a person named Tai. Could he by chance be Tai Kamiya? Big haired guy with brown eyes?"

Daisuke's jaw dropped. He clutched Demiveemon, asking, "You know him? Where is he?"

The Digimon nodded. "He's in the Digital World. He was the one who sent me here."

"Digital World? Where is that?"

Vee grinned. "It's the place where all Digimon live. There are all sorts of Digimon there."

Daisuke asked, "How do we get there?"

"I… Don't know. I only came through because the barrier between this world and the Digital World was weak enough and I got sucked through. I have no idea what happened. The next thing I knew, I ended up in your house."

The boy gritted his teeth. He now knew where Tai was, but was no closer to getting him back. He opened his mouth to ask a question but it died in his throat when the entrance to the toilet opened. Footsteps sounded on the tiled floor, and Daisuke whispered for Vee to be quiet as he zipped his bag up without making a sound.

Outside, Xavier stood at the sinks. He washed his face and stared into the mirror. He was trying to think of a way to get Davis and his partner alone and interrogate him. Unbeknownst to the platinum blonde, Daisuke was just in the cubicle behind him.

Sighing, Xavier exited the washroom. Daisuke came out of cautiously before hurrying off to class.

He had a lot of things to discuss with his friends later.

* * *

 _A/N: Oikawa is up to something, and Ken is dragged into it. Daisuke had just gotten himself a valuable piece of information, and a close call with Xavier. What do you think is going to happen? Leave a review to let me know!_


	4. Chapter 4: Rise of the Shadow Knight

_A/N: This will be the last chapter I'll upload before college. After that, I don't think I'll have the time or will to write anymore. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning this fic. This isn't my first short hiatus either. Before I started college in May, I started writing (but didn't upload) this story and Davis: LFAW. Then when my first semester started I set them aside completely. I didn't continue until my semester break started. Days at home gave me countless ideas for my stories, but life in college will get in the way. I might continue writing if I have the time, but until then, it's a short break for me._

 _My IELTS Speaking test is tomorrow and I'm still working on this. There goes my life… Anyway, I hope you don't mind a history lesson._

 _Enjoy!_

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon but I own the plot of this AU, a ton of other inventions and a few original characters._

* * *

CHAPTER 4: RISE OF THE SHADOW KINGHT

In his office, Principal Genji sighed. He had to take off his mask for an emergency meeting earlier. The Board had demanded explanations regarding the chaos that had happened yesterday. He couldn't exactly explain to them that the incident had been a Digimon attack.

DATS Commander Richard Sampson had said that the government wanted no word leaked about Digimon appearing in the real world, and the DATS agents had personally made sure that nobody else knew about Ogremon.

The Digimon Accidents Tactics Squad, simply known as DATS, was a secret government organisation that kept Digimon appearances hushed up. They were responsible for cleaning up the Myotismon incident, and they wiped the invasion from the memories of the people.

Anyway, the Board had reluctantly accepted the 'gas explosion' explanation, but unanimously decided that only Genji's pay would be deducted by 30% to pay for the repairs. The Board were dirt-bags that way.

So Genji had requested that he take leave for a few months because he had some private business to do. He entrusted Vice Principal Abe to direct the Academia in his absence. The reason he had to do so was to assume the position of Gennai, in order to prepare the Digidestined to save the Digital World.

Next to the silver briefcase which contained the D3s was a black briefcase. He opened it and looked at the 6 First Edition Digivices. He had given Tai's back to him and sent him to the Digital World, but what troubled him was the last one. Originally white, the Digivice was now a shade of stone grey. It wouldn't activate no matter what. He had an idea what had happened but he couldn't be sure.

He put his documents aside, grabbed his cloak and the briefcases, pocketed his pass card and turned off the lights. Walking out of the door and locking it, he stood there and waited. His watch said 1.35pm, which meant the boy and the girl would be arriving soon since classes ended at 1.40pm.

 _Might as well get myself a coffee,_ Gennai mused.

* * *

Daisuke hurried to the meet up point that he and Yolei had decided this morning during their walk, which was at the elevator to the top floor where the Grand Principal's office was. He felt bad for ditching TK and Kari again, but it couldn't be helped. He promised them that he would explain later.

The burgundy haired boy recalled the morning:

 _Just after the toilet incident…_

" _Let me out at the window on the second floor. I know my way from there," Demiveemon told Daisuke._

" _Just don't get into trouble. Meet me outside the Principal's Office after the last bell. Don't get caught and don't raid the cafeteria again."_

" _I make no promises about the raid. See you later!" And he jumped out of the window and disappeared down a ventilation shaft._

" _That little prick…" Daisuke muttered._

He found Yolei waiting there. "Hey Yolei. How was classes? I'm so flunking algebra."

The tall girl smiled, "It was fine. Now are we ready to go?" Daisuke nodded.

The elevator music was terrible. It didn't help that they had to stop on every floor for people to come and go.

After what seemed like ages, they finally reached the top floor. They found the hooded man, Gennai leaning against the wall, coffee in one hand and cell phone in another. He looked up as they approached him. "Ah, you're here. Let's take a seat in this room, shall we?" He opened the door to a room that had leather sofas and a marble coffee table, on which sat two briefcases.

"Make yourself comfortable," he gestured. Daisuke and Yolei sat down next to each other.

Gennai locked the door from the inside and sipped his coffee before sitting down opposite the kids. "Didn't you bring your Digimon with you?"

Daisuke shifted in his seat. "Um… Vee was supposed to meet me outside but he's nowhere in sight."

"Down here, Davis." The boy looked down and almost jumped when he saw Demiveemon peeking up at him from underneath the sofa. "What're you— How did you—"

"I told you I know my way around. I even brought my friends. Come out, everybody!" Demiveemon jumped on the seat and hollered. The Baby Digimon crawled out from their hiding spots. They gathered on the vacant sofa and chirped delightfully.

"I'm Minomon!" The green bug in a shell said.

"I'm Poromon!" The pink ball of a bird flapped around Yolei's head happily.

"I'm Tokomon!" The white pig-like creature grinned toothily.

"I'm Upamon!" The dough ball with three pairs of ear flaps said.

"I am Salamon, nice to meet you," the small beige puppy-like Digimon said shyly.

"Oh my! How lovely you all look." Yolei got up and hugged them. They liked her immediately.

Gennai was stunned by the sudden appearance of so many Digimon, but he cleared his throat. "Wow, there are so many of you. How did you gather here?" _And how could all of you have slipped past my nose?_

"That's our secret!" The Digimon said in unison before bursting into giggles.

Putting his face in his hands, Gennai sighed. "Very well. Just don't make a mess of the place." He addressed the two children. "Before we start, may I know your names?"

"I'm Yolei Inoue."

"I'm Dai—Davis. Davis Kamiya." _Close call,_ thought Daisuke. _I really need to be careful._

When Daisuke identified himself as a Kamiya, Gennai stared at him for a while before speaking, "I'm Gennai, as you already know. I think you're wondering why I called you here, and it's not for a chat. There is some explaining that I need to do regarding the appearances of creatures known as Digimon." He gestured at the Digimon who were happily wrestling with each other on the ground.

"You see, many years ago we realised that we were not alone in the universe. We discovered a parallel world, created by a group of college students called the Monster Makers. They were intending to make a complex game, but then scrapped the project because they all grew up and became busy with life.

What they didn't know, was that they had brought life to this world. The pieces of data they created, had evolved into creatures that were known as the Primals. They were the first generation of Digimon, but they were as their name suggests, primitive. One of the Monster Makers who had felt nostalgic at the time, dug up some data from his old files and was surprised to find that the simplistic one-dimensional characters had suddenly received an upgrade."

Daisuke and Yolei sat silently, captivated by the story. Even the Digimon had stopped playing in favour of a tale.

He contacted the other Makers, and they decided to commercialise their project. It was then, that their dreams began to come true. They didn't know what happened, but the data had somehow changed on its own. The first generation of Tamagotchis and Virtual Pets were actually Primals captured and stored in small devices, for humans to play with and take care of.

However, years later something else occurred. A Maker named Shibumi noticed that the Primals were dying out. They were being replaced by a new era of digital creatures, which could change forms if taken care of properly. These creatures were the first of the Digimon we know today. Shibumi didn't think that anything was off, but he was unsettled by the alarming speed of which the Digimon had advanced. After casual observations, he realised that the world the Digimon lived in was upgrading itself automatically, due to the fact that technology was improving.

"One day, the Tamagotchi toy of a young boy went blank. Pollock the Parrot, as he called it, had mysteriously vanished, turning the Tamagotchi into an empty device. The next day, the Tamagotchi of another boy faced the same problem. Soon, all the Tamagotchis around Japan went dead and the Monster Makers had to shut their company down." Gennai coughed a bit at the end of his sentence, for his throat was dry. Sipping his coffee, he continued.

"Then we come to our fateful night, 1st August 1995. The incident of a Parrotmon fighting a Greymon outside Highton View Terrace. Incidentally, it was the very same Pollock that had disappeared from the Tamagotchi of the boy I mentioned earlier. Try to guess who the Greymon belonged to."

"Um… You?" Daisuke guessed.

Gennai chuckled. "Very funny, but no. The owner of the Greymon was none other than Taichi 'Tai' Kamiya."

The impending silence was heavy. Daisuke swallowed as the information sank in.

"So… You're saying that Taichi, my… brother, was involved in this somehow? Is that why he's in the Digital World?"

Gennai stared at him. "How did you know he was in the Digital World?"

"Vee told me."

Demiveemon waved his stubby hands. "I met Tai! I did, I did."

"… Very well. Yes, he is in the Digital World. Anyway, back to the story. The Greymon and Parrotmon disappeared after the fight, presumably sucked back into the Digital World. The Japanese government cleaned up the battlefield and wiped any memory of that incident from the residents, yours and Tai's included. But we knew, and so did the Monster Makers from then on that we were not the only sentient beings in the universe.

"The government then tried to contact the other world, finally managing to open a portal to the other side. I was part of an expedition team to explore the unknown world, and it was fun albeit dangerous," Gennai said wistfully. "But it was a peaceful first contact anyhow. However, one man wanted to make use of Digimon. His name was Akihiro Kurata.

Kurata invaded the Digital World and began collecting the life energy and data of Digimon. His plans were unknown, but it backfired on him. The energies accumulated formed a single collective conscience and became Yggdrasil, the god of the Digital World. With the help of four Powerful Primals called the Sovereigns, Yggdrasil banished Kurata to dimension where space and time is irrelevant, and was never seen again. The Sovereigns then became guardians of the Digital Realm, watching over the world with Yggdrasil, swearing not to meddle with Digimon affairs."

"Wow… That's awesome. But how does this relate to us?" Yolei questioned. She stroked the Poromon on her lap. The pink bird had grown attached to her and wanted her close company.

"I'm getting to that. So the human invasion left the Digimon scared of humans, and all contact ceased, but that was until a devil Digimon, Devimon, wanted to fill the Digital World with darkness. Unable to be involved directly, Yggdrasil forcefully brought 8 young human children to the Digital Realm, believing that the prophecy of eight would be fulfilled and the Digimon World would be saved. And fulfilled it was. The 8 kids had their adventures but that's a story for another time.

"Let's skip to the part where they found out Myotismon, a vampire Digimon was preparing to invade the Human World. They failed to stop him from coming here, but they finally destroyed him after a tense battle. But the damage had been done. The Japanese central government knew that Digimon could actually wreck the Earth, so they set up a few secret organisations to monitor Digimon activity. We have Hypnos in Shinjuku, DATS branches here and there and some others that I don't know of. They keep Digimon cases silent, and nobody remembers them. Even the 8 children had their memories wiped and their Digivices confiscated," Gennai took a deep breath.

"Still not related to us yet."

"Patience, boy. We're almost there. Now, something seems to have gone wrong with Yggdrasil. It has defected and is now creating chaos in the Digital World. We didn't think that the power of the Original 8 was enough to stop him, so we had to bring in reinforcements.

A few scientists and I had been studying the structure and system of the Digivices and we managed to create 5 new models, the D3s which stand for Digimon, Detect and Discover." Gennai explained. He pulled the silver briefcase towards him and opened it, spinning it around for Davis and Yolei to see. The D3s were red, yellow, pink, and green respectively.

"These D3s can evolve, or as the Digimon say, _digivolve_ the Digimon into their higher forms temporary if the bonds between human and partner Digimon are strong enough. The D3s only activate when a true bond has been formed."

Demiveemon jumped excitedly. "I know how it feels like! When Davis and I bonded, I felt an energy build inside me. It was like… a warm feeling that exploded. It was, it was!" The other Digimon gathered around him, eager to hear more about forming a bond.

Gennai shrugged. "That made no sense to me, but yes, when a true bond is formed I believe you'll know what it's like. But anyway, the Digital World is in jeopardy and it has to be saved again. Digimon appearances around Japan are becoming increasingly frequent and it is getting out of hand.

Somebody needs to stop Yggdrasil, so I sent Tai ahead – yes, Tai was one of the 8 kids that saved the Digital World – to know what is going on. There will be four more new kids to join the Digidestined, as we call the eight, but we don't know who yet. These guys over here," Gennai jerked a thumb at the Digimon who were still listening to Demiveemon brag about digivolution, "might be potential partners for the new Digidestined so you better keep an eye on them."

Gennai opened the other black briefcase and pocket one of the contents. He spun the case around like he did with the silver one. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to locate all the old and new Digidestined and gather them. After that, I'll brief you on your next task."

Yolei held out her hands defensively. "Wait a second, we came here to get information, not to sign up for a task," she retorted.

"And information, you have gotten. You have already heard what's going on and what you're supposed to do. What else do you want to know?"

Daisuke answered this time, "Why us?"

"Because it was meant to be. Fate chose you out of so many people to handle this task, so you are the one who has the power to get the job done."

Daisuke thought for a moment. "And if we say no?"

"Then we'll continue waiting till the next Digidestined appears, which might be tomorrow, or it might be next month, while the Digital World continues to suffer. Tai is in a dangerous world over there. Surely you don't want this to happen, right?"

Yolei clenched her fists. "That's not fair. We aren't really given a choice," she said angrily.

"Oh no, Yolei. YOU have a choice. Davis is the one who doesn't."

Yolei rounded on her friend. "You can't be seriously thinking of accepting this, right? This is madness, and we don't even know if we can trust this guy."

To her surprise, Davis closed the cases and took their handles. "I accept."

Yolei's voice died in her throat. "But- You- You can't just-"

"I have to, Yolei. I have decided that I will bear this task," Daisuke said in a low tone. He looked at her and grinned lopsidedly. "Besides, I get to be leader since I am the one who gathers them all."

The girl sighed. There was no talking him out of this one. "Fine, I'm in. You can't get things done without messing up anyway."

"Hey, how do you know that? You haven't even seen me in action!" Daisuke defended.

Yolei rolled her eyes. "Because you're a boy, and boys always mess things up."

"Why you-"

"Guys, please. You have your task, so please get to work. The Digital World needs your assistance, and so does the real world." Gennai smiled. "But you'll do fine. Now if we're done here, I need to be somewhere else." He stood up and headed for the door. He opened it and left, leaving two primary school students and a group of overactive Digimon.

"Man, that was weird," Daisuke commented. He glanced at the cases and back at Yolei. "So what do we do now?"

Yolei shrugged. "We have to find whoever these Digivices belong to, I guess. I'll come over to your house for a while again, and we'll figure out what to do."

"Yeah sure. Demiveemon, we're going now."

Demiveemon stopped struggling with the Minomon. "Do we have to?" he whined.

"Can we come with you? We're bored of staying in this place," Poromon asked hopefully.

"Yeah, we know every single corner of the whole Academia. You won't believe the number of secret passages they have," Salamon chimed in.

"Can we, please?" They all chorused, looking at Daisuke and Yolei pleadingly. Even Demiveemon did his best puppy dog expression.

Daisuke slapped his forehead, sighing in resignation. "Alright, alright. You can come with us, as long as you're not discovered. Demiveemon, lead them back to our house." The Digimon cheered and whooped.

"Stay in the shadows and don't get caught," warned Yolei.

Demiveemon rolled his eyes, "Now you're sounding exactly like Davis. You two are so alike." Yolei blushed lightly but Daisuke looked completely oblivious to his partner's statement.

Getting up, the boy said, "We'll meet you back at the house. See you."

"Okay!" The Digimon scurried away and disappeared.

"That was quick," Yolei commented as she took a briefcase from Daisuke. "Let's go before trouble arrives."

* * *

Daisuke and Yolei made their way back to the apartment building, but they had the misfortune of being spotted by TK and Kari.

The latter duo were in a nearby café doing their homework. They saw Daisuke and Yolei stroll past them outside the glass pane where their table was and quickly went outside. Kari dragged Daisuke into the café by his ear while TK ushered the lavender haired girl inside. The customers inside gave them strange looks before minding their own businesses.

"Kari, not the ear! Ouch!" Daisuke whimpered.

"Shut up, Davis. It's high time you sat down and gave us the explanation you owe us," Kari snapped at him.

"Owie… Alright, alright! I'll talk! Can't we go somewhere more private?"

"No, we're doing this here and now." Kari let go of his ear.

Daisuke sat down and gingerly touched his throbbing ear. Yolei took a seat next to him while TK and Kari sat opposite him.

"So what do you want to know?"

"Everything! First you're hospitalized for a freak incident, then you have amnesia and act all weird. Recently you even ditched me and Kari and run off without saying anything. What's going on with you?" TK exploded. A waiter came up to him and asked him to lower his voice.

Daisuke frowned. "What do you mean by acting weird? I certainly have not acted out of the ordinary. As for ditching you two, I had something important to do."

"Important enough to leave your friends hanging?" Kari countered.

Yolei and Daisuke shared an incredulous look. "Should we tell them?" Yolei asked.

Daisuke pondered for a moment before saying, "Yeah, they deserve to know." Turning to his other friends, he shortened the story as much as possible. "I met a little blue monster called a Digimon. His name is Vee, short for Veemon. I left him in school the other day so I left you guys to go back and get him. Then a green troll called Ogremon attacked us and almost crushed me but Yolei pulled me out of the way. Then Veemon Digivolved into a larger dragon with wings (he was so cool) and destroyed the Ogremon.

A man gave me something called a Digivice," Daisuke brought out his blue D3 for them to see. "Then I went with Yolei just now to find him and he told us an epic story about the Digital World where all Digimon live. Oh, and Tai got himself stuck in the Digital World somehow."

TK whistled and clapped his hands sardonically while Kari narrowed her eyes. "I expected better of you, Davis. First you ditch us, now you spin a tale as an excuse, using a _toy_ as evidence. I'm hurt, Davis. I really am." She packed her things and left.

"Aww come on Kari. Where are you going?" The others got up and followed the apoplectic girl.

"I'm going home."

TK left enough money on the table to pay for their drinks. He hurried after Daisuke and Yolei who were trying to convince Kari that they weren't lying.

"Really, Kari. We're telling the truth. In this briefcases are more of those Digivices. I'll introduce you to Vee when we get back later," Daisuke pleaded.

"And why should I believe you?" Kari shot back, walking faster to get away.

He didn't get to answer because suddenly TK spotted a fireball hurtling towards Kari.

TK lunged at Kari and dragged her out of harm's way. The fireball missed but hit a car nearby which exploded. Daisuke and Yolei were thrown back slightly by the explosion, dazed but otherwise unharmed.

Kari looked up. "What just happened?"

TK released her and looked around dizzily. His ears were ringing from the explosion. People screamed and ran for cover. The blonde spotted an eight foot tall humanoid figure whose body was made entirely of fire walking in their direction.

Daisuke groaned painfully and propped himself using his elbows. Yolei stirred beside him. "My head…" the girl choked out, coughing from the smoke.

"I don't know, but I think he might be the cause of it." Daisuke pointed to the Meramon approaching them.

The two of them scrambled to their feet and went to help TK and Kari. The brunette was at a loss for words. "I—you said—Monsters… It's true?" She said bleakly.

Daisuke grinned, "Yeah, I wouldn't lie about stuff like this. Wait till you meet Vee." He stood up straight and surveyed the damage. "Too bad he isn't with us, or we could take this guy down."

And at that precise moment…

"Davis!" something blue leapt from a building and landed on a car, denting the hood. "Are you okay?" Vee had become Veemon somehow.

"Speak of the devil. Vee, you're here! I thought you and the others were at home. And how come you're Veemon again?"

Veemon shook his head. "I had a feeling you were in danger. I took detour and came here instead. Digimon can sense it when other Digimon are around. When i sense a fight, I can Digivolve to a Rookie."

"And where are the others?"

"I told them how to get to your apartment. They'll be hiding in the lobby."

Handing his briefcase to Yolei, he instructed. "Alright. Yolei, get TK and Kari to safety. Meet me at the lobby of my apartment, find Poromon and the others there. Veemon, it's time to Digivolve!" Yolei gave Daisuke a concerned look, but she obeyed and went with TK and Kari. Kari gave Daisuke a worried look but he flashed his trademark grin and a thumbs-up.

"Veemon digivolve to… Exveemon!" The light of Digivolution faded and Veemon reappeared as a larger blue dragon with wings who took to the air.

"An Exveemon! So what the Emperor suspected was true. There are remnants of the Veemon clan. It will bring me great honour to destroy you!" Meramon mused in a surprisingly female voice. When Daisuke looked closely he could see the feminine features more clearly. "Fire Ball!" She began throwing spheres of flames at Exveemon.

The blue dragon manoeuvred around the attacks and dived in for an attack. He punched the Meramon in the face and she took a few steps back. "Is this how you treat a woman?" she mocked.

Exveemon snarled, "I see no woman here, only an enemy who threatens me and my friends!" He went for another few physical attacks. Vee bit down on Meramon's arm but the flaming Champion level Digimon lit her palm on fire and slapped it down on his neck. Exveemon screamed in pain and let go of his bite. Meramon kick him in the stomach and he crashed into the sidewalk.

"Roaring Fire!" Meramon spat a stream of fire from her mouth at Exveemon who got up and flew upward. Daisuke had to roll to the side to avoid getting roasted alive.

"Come on, Vee! What are you playing at? Finish her off already," Daisuke shouted.

Exveemon grunted as he flew around the Fire Balls shot at him. "I'm trying to, Davis, but I can't hit her without getting burned."

Meramon hurled another Fire Ball at him. "That's right, you should know better than to play with fire. Time to get burned!"

With a powerful swing of his tail, Exveemon deflected the fireball in another direction. Unfortunately it was headed straight towards a young boy. "Oh no!"

The boy could only stare in shock as the flame shot towards him at a high speed. At the last second a figure in black and green armour appeared and struck the fireball with his palm. The fire dissipated, leaving nothing but heat.

"Are you alright?" the armoured figure asked. The boy nodded, still in woozy from his near-death experience.

The newcomer walked up to Daisuke without taking his eyes off the Meramon. Daisuke took the chance to study his dark green, military coloured armour. Beneath the armour was a smooth, black skin-tight suit. The chest plate was made of what looked like metal, whereas the limb joints had carbon fibre pieces covering them. He also had a dome-shaped pack on his back. Gauntlets wrapped his forearms. On the right wrist, there was a countdown timer, decreasing from 8 minutes to 7.59, 7.58, 7.56…

The legs were clad with green armour as well. The helmet had an interesting design that looked like a bee. It did not have two eyes, but a single visor instead.

Daisuke gaped in awe. "Dude, this is so cool! Where can I get one of those?"

Of course, he was ignored.

The newcomer grabbed two dagger hilts from his belt and dashed towards the Meramon at inhumane speeds. The flaming humanoid swiped at him but he sidestepped easily. With lightning-quick reflexes, he slashed, stabbed and hacked at Meramon, making her shriek in pain.

However, he wasn't quick enough because Meramon managed to launch a kick at his torso, kicking him back. The armour clad person threw something from his belt at the Digimon which exploded upon impact but the smoke disappeared and Meramon appeared to grow taller.

Daisuke grumbled, "Not even explosions work against her? How do we win?"

"If only we had lots of water to spray at her…" Exveemon thought out loud.

Eyes widening at his partner's words, he snapped his fingers. "That's it! We need water. But where can we get lots…" He spotted a fire hydrant behind the Meramon. "I got it. Hey, green-armour-mysterious-stranger!" He hollered at the green combatant and pointed at the fire hydrant.

He caught on immediately for he nodded and crouched before jumping into the air. He tried to bring a chopping motion down on Meramon who stepped back to avoid the hit. She unknowingly stepped over the fire hydrant. When he landed, he flung a bomb at the fire hydrant, blowing it to bits and spraying water at the Meramon.

"No!" she cried as her fires were put out, making her shrink. "I can't be losing to you!"

Daisuke grinned. "Looks like you are. Exveemon, now's our chance!"

"Vee-Laser!" A blast of light shot at the weakened Meramon from Exveemon's torso. The enemy Champion disintegrated into data which was again absorbed by Exveemon.

Daisuke pumped a fist in victory. He went forward to meet the stranger. "Hey, that was awesome. I'm Daisuke. What's your name?" He held out a hand.

The other person merely looked at his hand, not shaking it. He turned to leave, causing Daisuke to yell, "Oh come on, at least show some courtesy."

Pausing, the person turned his head slightly. "I am the Shadow Knight." He looked at his watch, which was counting backwards for 3 minutes. Jumping onto a car, he launched himself into the air, grabbed hold of an edge of a building before scaling to the top and disappearing from sight.

Exveemon dedigivolved into Demiveemon. The boy Shadow Knight saved approached Daisuke. "Just now… That was a Digimon battle wasn't it?"

Daisuke looked at him in surprise. He didn't think that there would be others who knew about Digimon. "Who are you?"

The boy met Daisuke's eyes. He didn't look much younger than Davis, probably a couple of years at most. He also had a bowl haircut and soft brown eyes. "My name is Cody Hida, please to meet you. Do you mind if I come with you to ask some questions?"

Daisuke picked Demiveemon up and nodded. _Seems like I'm getting to know more people because of Digimon._

"Okay, let's move. We have to get away before the police get here." Neither of them noticed the flash of a camera around the corner.

* * *

 _A/N: Two updates in one day? Man, I rock. But sadly, this means I won't updating for a while… I would like to thank BreakingWays for indirectly giving me the idea of using a female Meramon._

 _I wonder how many of you picked up the little hints I dropped in here. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you leave a review._ _I love reading your opinions. See you around!_


	5. Chapter 5: Advent of the Emperor

_A/N: Wow, this chapter is one hell of an ominous one. I realise that I wasn't giving Tai screen time and many of you are wondering what's going on with him. Hope you enjoy._

 _DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DIGIMMON, BUT I OWN THE PLOT OF THIS AU STORY AND ANY OTHER OC I CREATED._

* * *

CHAPTER 5: ADVENT OF THE EMPEROR

Yoshi and Marcus sat in the DATS car, observing the situation before them. Yoshi had parked in the alley which darkness concealed the car. They were under strict orders not to interfere. The 18 year old was recording the battle between Meramon and the blue dragon Digimon, identified by her Data Link Digivice (shortened to DLD) as Exveemon, a rare form of evolution for a Veemon. The video feed was being streamed live to DATS headquarters.

Marcus sat in the passenger seat, watching the fight intently. "Damn it, why don't I get to fight? I would have probably taken out that flaming bastard a while ago."

A voice beeped from his own DLD. Agumon said, "You said it, boss! We are the unbeatable duo of kick-ass. Now can you please turn the DLD around so that I can see the fight?"

Yoshi cleared her throat. "Language, you two. Commander's orders were not to interfere. We're supposed to just record and observe. Gennai said that the Ogremon that was destroyed just crumbled into data particles, when it was supposed to degenerate back into a egg. Our mission is to verify the truthfulness of that statement."

Marcus rested his head on the window. "But it's still boring. If I knew that I was to just sit and watch, I would have just stayed at home. Mom made eggs and curry for lunch and I missed it for this."

"Not just you, boss. I can't believe you made me miss out on Sarah's lunch too!"

"Hey, what did I tell you about calling my mom by her name?"

"Shut up, you two. We can hear your annoying bickering from the live feed," a new voice said from the radio.

"No you shut up. Thomas. At least you get to sit comfortably at base with video games or something," Marcus shot back.

"You know full well that I am not into childish entertainment like games. I prefer to read up general topics, science and articles that help increase my knowledge. Unlike you, I do no—" the blonde genius' rant was cut off by Yoshi's shriek. A fireball heading towards a small boy and no one was near enough to save him.

Apparently not.

A figure in a military camo-coloured set of armour jumped out and dispersed the flames with a palm.

"Holy shit, is that a Digimon or a Kamen Rider?" Marcus was slack-jawed at the sheer awesomeness of the newcomer.

"Language!" this time Lalamon screeched from Yoshi's pink DLD. "By the way, it's not a Digimon. It's a human."

The Shadow Knight (though unknown to the DATS team at that time) proceeded to battle the Meramon and together with Exveemon, they claimed victory. The Meramon disintegrated, data fragments absorbed by the dragon Digimon.

"I guess that's proof enough for us that Gennai is speaking the truth." Yoshi stopped recording and watched the spiky haired goggle boy and the kid with the bowl haircut who almost got fried escape. The Shadow Knight had disappeared as well. "Should we follow the kids who got involved?"

"That won't be necessary. They're under Gennai protection," their commander said said through the radio.

"But—"

"It's fine, Yoshi. Return to base after cleaning up the mess." Commander Sampson ordered.

"Yes sir." Yoshi cut the radio connection. "It's the worst…"

"You know what's worse? Me not eating Sarah's eggs!"

"Shut up, Agumon. Don't call my mom Sarah. The way you said you wanted to eat her eggs just sounded wrong."

"What's wrong with eating Sarah's eggs?"

"Shut up already!"

Lalamon sighed. "This really is the worst," she and her partner said in unison.

* * *

Gennai stood next to Commander Sampson in the DATS Command Centre. Gennai scowled at the videos of the green armoured fighter. The suit looked somewhat familiar to him. He was sure he had seen something like it before. He spotted something miniscule on the suit that flashed past in a second and paused it. Rewinding and zooming in, the screen showed an enlarged logo of Future World Industries.

The middle-aged man stood up abruptly and slammed his palms on the desk, startling the other residents in the room. He then stormed out of the command centre, hunched in anger. Sampson and his partner Kudamon who curled around his neck watched him go silently.

* * *

Yukio Oikawa got up and walked towards the hangar. The Shadow Knight had returned to the hanger and the assistants immediately rushed forward to help remove the suit. They had eighteen seconds to do so.

 _Screw the 10 minute limit… If only I could find a way to overcome this problem,_ Oikawa thought. Out loud he said, "Welcome back, Ichijouji. You have performed well, seeing that this is your first test run and mission."

Ken managed to take off most of the armour, but a left kneecap couldn't be removed in time. Pain shot through his leg and he collapsed on one knee. Oikawa shouted for his assistants to hurry and take the piece off. The man helped the dark haired boy up and supported him to a chair. "Are you okay?"

Ken nodded, the pain subsiding. "What was that feeling?"

"A fault in the algorithm. We have not located the source of the problem yet, but I assure you we will soon. Then you'll be able to fight without having to worry about the time limit. " A smile graced Yukio's features. "How do you feel?"

"It's like… When I have the suit on, my mind becomes clear. I know what to do. My reflexes are fast and well-timed. I can form strategies easily. Without it now, I just feel… normal. What happened during the test?"

Yukio frowned at the question. He wasn't sure what happened either. "I'm not really clear about that bit. The foreign object that came out of your neck fused with the suit, but our computers showed no changes in the Shadow Knight suit either. We'll get to the bottom of this some other day, but for now you should go home. I will contact you again when we're done with recording the data."

Ken nodded and walked out of the hangar. He passed by a man in a hooded cloak on his way out, but paid no attention to him.

The man was actually a furious Gennai. He came up to Oikawa and pulled back his hood. Gennai was lightly shorter, but that didn't stop him from looking intimidating.

"I thought you said that Project Virtue Knights was scrapped? What the heck was a Knight doing out there, battling a Meramon?"

Oikawa looked at Gennai impassively. "It's nice to see you too, Genji. Or are you going by Gennai now?" he said smoothly.

"Answer the question!"

Oikawa rolled his eyes. "For your information, Project Virtue Knights was indeed taken down and the armours were confiscated by the government. However, I have a few connections that helped me gain access to one of the suits, which I have been working on under secretly, it is named Project Shadow Knight."

Gennai threw his hands up in frustration. "You can't do this, Yukio. I left Future World Industries because I disagreed with your methods. We can't send children into battle, they're not soldiers."

Oikawa raised an eyebrow. "And how is your way of using children with Digimon partners any different?"

"The Digimon do the fighting. The children are just there to help them get stronger, and they get a bonus of having a close pet slash friend."

Yukio walked past Gennai and cleaned up the data sheets on the work table. An assistant shuffled past, stopping to collect the papers. "You understand that we cannot entrust such powerful weapons into the hands of adults, who can get corrupted easily by the power they possess. Children have the innocence and morals we need, so they make good soldiers. Don't worry, if it bothers you, be assured that I'm only entrusting one boy to be the Shadow Knight. You met him on your way in."

Gennai recalled the dark haired boy who brushed past him earlier. "Him? Ken Ichijouji, one of the prodigy brothers?"

"Yes, now if you're going to ask me meaningless questions, please visit me at a different time."

Gennai was taken aback by the bluntness of the request. He hadn't contacted Yukio in a long time after he left Project Virtue Knights. He shouldn't have been surprised though, given their less than happy farewell. Still, Gennai was a scientist at heart and while he was strictly against adolescent soldiers, he had to admit that he was curious about the progress his old friend made on the armour. So reluctantly, he asked, "Tell me more about Project Shadow Knight."

His old colleague wore a faint grin on his face. He gestured for Gennai to follow him to his office.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, Tai Kamiya was still stuck in the Digital World. After sending Demiveemon to the Real World, the Digidestined of Courage and his partner left to scout the enemy's progress, making their way around Folder Island. The Emperor had finally made his move, by sending out the five Mega level Generals to conquer the Digital World. Tai knew that the Digital World was larger than this; the Emperor most likely had attacked other regions by now, but the Bearer of Courage was determined to help wherever he can._

 _Tai had managed to locate one General, who happened to attack the Grasslands Village that he was in at that time. A battle took place, ending in a loss for Tai and costed the village's destruction. Tai wondered if it would have been better if he hadn't stood in the General's way._

 _Wargreymon should have had a vaccine type bonus against the virus, so he could have won had he not ploughed through the army. At the final moment, he caused a distraction and the partnered duo escaped._

 _Currently Tai and Agumon were in Kravas Town, a place in the middle of nowhere. It was located two towns South of the Grasslands Village, quite sure that they wouldn't be caught so easily. Folder was large, and it took them two days to reach. Luckily, the loss in military numbers meant that Chaosdramon couldn't pursue them._

 _Tai wondered if that was Agumon's plan. He suspected his partner was smarter than he let on, but when the boy asked him, the yellow dinosaur just looked at him blankly._

 _Anyway, the last couple of days were uneventful. The duo kept a low profile and recuperated. However trouble would not just leave them alone…_

Tai stood, facing a person cloaked in gold and black while the Digimon in the bar murmured fearfully. It was the Emperor himself. The figure was around Tai's height and probably around his age, donning a magnificent set of robes. His torso was protected by golden armour that had the symbol of Yggdrasil on the chest. The face was disguised by a mask, but his slick dark hair was combed back. Tai had the illusion that he was facing off with Darth Vader, but without the lightsabers.

Agumon snarled at the Digimon accompanying the Emperor, which was a Dorumon. The furry dino-dragon Digimon with tiny black wings on his back narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth, until the Emperor patted his head and he calmed down, choosing to regard Agumon with a cold expression.

"What do you want?" Tai spat at him.

"Nothing but to drink and talk. Starmon, four of your best juice please." The bartender nodded hurriedly and prepared the drinks. The Emperor took out a handful of Bits from the pocket of his robes and placed it on the counter.

"That's a lot extra, My Lord," the Starmon said nervously. The Emperor just waved a dismissive hand.

"Consider it my treat. I am feeling generous today."

"Thank you, Your Highness," Starmon bowed before quickly moving over to the other side of the counter, pretending to be busy.

The Emperor shook his head. "I don't know why people are so nervous. It's not like I'm going to cause mass genocide. I'm just assuming control over the Digital World, not slaying everybody in my way."

Dorumon muttered something about the Veemon clan.

Shrugging, the Emperor replied, "Those guys were rebels. If they hadn't stood in the way, I would have spared them. Probably." He took two drinks and held them out to Tai.

Tai didn't take them.

Sighing behind his mask, he chided, "Come on, it's just a drink. Don't let my Bits go to waste. Starmon prepared it, so if anything happens to you it's his fault." The Digimon in question jumped at the mention of his name, but minded his own business.

Tai reluctantly took the mugs, handing one to Agumon who drank the liquid quickly, for the juice was nutritious and helped his healing. "Look, _Your Majesty_ , I don't think you would be here without a reason. Why don't we just get to the point already?"

"Always to the point. I see you haven't changed at all, my friend." The Emperor pressed a button on the side of his mask, which morphed into a half-mask with a dark visor, one that covered his upper face. He drank the juice, and licked his lips. "This is really good stuff, but since you're so eager to get to business… I came here to give you an offer."

"An offer to punch you in the face?"

"Tempting, but no. I would like to offer you a chance to join my ranks."

Silence filled the bar. It was known that Digimon partnered to humans were stronger than normal Digimon. If Tai joined the Emperor, that would be two humans partnered with Digimon out to conquer the world. Almost nobody else could stand in their way. Tai felt the eyes of the Digimon around drilling holes in him, full of fear.

As if he would even consider doing so.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no intention of being a lackey you can order around. Unless you have something else to offer, I'm out of here. Thanks for the drink anyway. See you around, hopefully not," Tai scoffed. He set the empty mug on the counter and walked away, Agumon trailing behind. The Digimon in the bar relaxed.

He had reached the door when the snide voice sounded behind him. "Then what if I told you that I can get you home?"

Tai stopped, turning around to face the Emperor. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Judging from your looks, you haven't been back to the Real World for about a month. Let me know if you are ready to return to home." The Emperor stood up, walked past Tai and out of the bar, patting the bushy haired teen on the shoulder on his way. Dorumon glared at Agumon, following his master.

Tai froze, his brain not completely comprehending the words. When the implications sank in, he gasped. "Stop!" The Emperor did. "You have a way to get back to the Human World?"

The messenger of Yggdrasil smiled behind his mask. Tai had taken the bait.

Whirling around, he spread his arms. "Of course. I travel every day. I'm sure you miss the comforts of home. A nice shower, change of clothes, delicious home-cooked food… There's a portal back at my base, not that you know where it is. You can have all that again, if you join me, that is." The masked menace tossed something at Tai, who grabbed it.

The object as a sleek black rectangle. Three buttons budded at the bottom of the LCD touchscreen display, and there were multiple connection ports for headphones, USB and one that looked familiar. Tai brought out his white Digivice and compared the ports, finding them to be complementary.

"Plug it in, I assure you that it is harmless," the cloaked teen prompted.

Tai gave him a cautious look and did so. There was a brief loading sequence before screen showed a 3D model of Agumon and his stats.

"This is pretty cool," Tai grudgingly admitted. "Where did you get something like this?"

"You will not believe the wonders Yggdrasil can create. He is the God of the Digital World whereas I am his messenger. Join me and be my advisor; we can rule the Digital World and bring order to it. There will be no more free will, no more mistakes and squabbles. The Digimon can live in peace! Isn't that great? All you have to do is download the program into your Digivice and I can grant your wish to get home."

Tai clenched his fists. He unplugged his Digivice from the black device and tossed it back at the Emperor. "Sorry that I don't agree with you on that. You're taking away freedom, a universal right. So what if they make mistakes? So what if they fight? It's all part of learning and living. While your offer to send me home is tempting, I'd rather stay here than accept it and be part of your regime. Again, thanks but no thanks."

The Emperor stood still for a moment, then he spoke in a cold tone. "It's a shame. I hoped better of you, Tai Kamiya but it appears that you will not join me no matter what. That means you're an obstacle that has to be eliminated. Dorumon!" The Digimon stepped forward, eager to battle. "Finish him off."

"With pleasure. Metal Cannon!" An iron sphere shot out from Dorumon's mouth at Tai, who narrowly missed it.

"Agumon, take him down!" The yellow reptile leapt towards his opponent. The two of them clashed in a ferocious fight. Agumon slashed and clawed at Dorumon using his large talons. Dorumon didn't have arms as capable as his, but his agility and quickness at dodging the claws made up for it. He head-butted Agumon, knocking him backwards. Agumon steadied himself and fired a Pepper breath, Dorumon responded with a Metal Cannon. The attacks collided halfway and exploded.

Tai himself was caught in a brawl with the Emperor. The caped ruler had charged at him while their partners were fighting. Tai blocked some punches and threw some of his own. His opponent matched him in terms of skill. Still, Tai managed to gain the upper hand for a brief moment. The Emperor lost his balance, but rolled away before Tai could land a hit, putting some distance between them.

"Very good, Kamiya. That was a Karate move."

Tai grinned in spite of himself. "I learned Karate for years now. I'm a black belt."

"I wouldn't have a weaker opponent anyway. Yargh!"

The two human fighters struck and dodged, neither of them could actually hit the opponent. Tai could feel his strength waning, but the Emperor showed no signs of slowing down. Finally he say an opening and punched the enemy's torso as hard as he could. His knuckles collided with metal, making him yelp.

"What the heck are you wearing?" Tai demanded, shaking his hand to relieve the pain.

"Chrome Digizoid Armor, made from the forges in Flame Terminal," the Emperor declared proudly. "It was a gift from Yggdrasil himself."

"That's unfair!"

"Who cares. Nobody said anything about unfair when Renamon was deleted!"

Tai froze. "Renamon?"

The Emperor growled agitatedly. He charged again with a shrill cry, not giving Tai any chances to ask more questions.

Tai dodged a roundhouse kick, coming up behind his foe and grappled with him. The Emperor elbowed Tai's guts and spun around to deal a hard slap across the face. The Kamiya fell down, quickly swiping his opponent's legs with his own. The Emperor hit the dirt and retaliated with a boot to Tai's face. Soon the two fighters were locked in a tangle of limbs, but they quickly separated when their partner Digimon brought their battle closer to them.

"Agumon, fall back!" Tai rolled away and got up, ready to lunge.

The Emperor mimicked his actions. "Dorumon, heel!"

The rivals put fifty feet between themselves, staring the other down. Neither made a move, like cowboys in a duel at high noon. The Digimon residents of Kravas Town watched from their hiding places or from the windows of the buildings, none dared to make a sound.

"Agumon, I need you to charge up your Pepper Breath. I'm going to do something crazy." Tai said quietly. Agumon raised an eye ridge but didn't question his partner.

"Dorumon, use a Hyper Metal Dash. Agumon will be charging up his attack, and statistically a HMD should overpower a Pepper Breath." The Emperor smirked behind his mask. _So predictable, Kamiya. So very predictable._

A few seconds passed and the two sides ran at each other. Agumon concentrated on enlarging the Pepper Breath in his mouth. Dorumon build up his own Hyper Metal Dash, getting ready to shoot. The distance in between shortened. Forty feet… Thirty feet… Twenty-five feet…

"Now Agumon!" Dorumon took that as his cue to shoot. To his surprise, Tai grabbed Agumon's arms and swung him away, making the high-speed iron ball zip past. Tai then proceeded to launch Agumon at the Emperor. Only catching on to Tai's plan at the last minute, he fired at his new target. "Pepper Breath!"

The Emperor had no way to slowing down or changing direction. The fire blast was aimed right at his head. With increased speed, Dorumon tore forward and jumped in front of his master, taking the full brunt of the attack. The Digimon was blasted backwards into the Emperor, accidentally knocking of the mask in the process. They both tumbled in the dirt before rolling to a stop.

The Emperor quickly sat up and examined the beast Digimon. "Dorumon! Are you okay? Come on, talk to me," he said desperately. Without his mask on, the Emperor was a human teen. He was the same age as Tai. His eyes held a hint of anxiety. Putting his ear on the Digimon's chest, he heard a strong heartbeat and sighed in relief. Dorumon was just knocked out. His fur had been singed by the fire, but he was otherwise well.

Now that his partner was fine, anger returned to the Emperor. "Kamiya!" he roared as he turned towards the bushy headed boy who had jogged up to them.

Tai's eyes were round with disbelief. He knew who the Emperor was now. Agumon shared his shocked and horrified expression. "No… It can't be. I don't believe it."

The Emperor stood up, holding his unconscious escort carefully. "What, not even when proof presents itself before your eyes?" He spat.

"It can't be you. You wouldn't—"

"I wouldn't _what,_ betray you and become the ruler of the Digital World? That I would forever serve under the _almighty Tai Kamiya, leader of the Digidestined?_ Think again!"

Tai was at a loss for words. "How could you? You are a Digidestined! Your job is to protect the Digital World, not enslave it." He said angrily.

"And what did we get? We protected the Digital World, but we didn't get the happy ending. WE were forced to separate from our partners. WE had our memories of our partners wiped. WE were the tools that got discarded after being used," his voice was bitter now. "All so that a bunch of creatures could live happily? Blissfully ignorant that their lives could have just ended like that if we failed? So that the human world can continue to exist without knowledge of another world? Is that what being a Digidestined is? If the answer is yes then I want no part of it."

"This isn't what Renamon would have wanted—" Agumon began but he was cut off by the Emperor.

"DON'T YOU TRY TO TELL ME WHAT RENAMON WOULD HAVE WANTED! IF SHE WERE STILL ALIVE SHE WOULD AGREE WITH ME!" he screamed at his former leader's partner.

"No she wouldn't. She would be sad that you've gone down the wrong path," Tai tried to reason with his former teammate.

"She would have stood by me for sure! If it wasn't for those meddling adults who had their own agendas, we would still be together. She wouldn't have gotten deleted by the artificial Digimon those adults made while we had our memories removed!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Tai was confused by this.

"You think I want to subdue the Digital World for nothing? Yggdrasil just wants to bring order, and he needs my help. He promised me an army, one that I will lead and invade the Real World. With my new partner Dorumon by my side, I will punish those selfish adults that took away Renamon from me." Angry tears were streaming down the Emperor's cheeks.

"How did you get a new partner? I thought Renamon would have been reborn as an egg?" Agumon asked.

The former Digidestined shook his head, "The rules changed after we saved the world. The data from Apocalymon altered the Digital World. Renamon dissolved into data completely. Yggdrasil told me Dorumon was a Primal aka Prototype Digimon he merged Renamon's data, hence the fox-like look. Dorumon can Digivolve to Mega level and is much more powerful than Renamon ever was."

Tai fell silent. "Look, I'm sorry for your loss but you can't do this. It's not too late to turn back now. We can still work this out. Help me get home, then we can deal with Gennai and the adults," Tai pleaded.

The Emperor snorted. "You know, I had always been jealous of you, Tai. When we were younger, you got to be the leader, although I was smarter. The others still looked up to you to lead them into battle, even though Renamon was much stronger. I guess people prefer leaders who are not highly intelligent beings," he said.

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Everything! You're a serviceable leader, not an excellent one. You act like an idiot at times, but when it comes to tight situations you rely on dumb luck to pull you through. I could have been so much better than you, if I had the chance."

"So that's what all this is about? Jealousy? Revenge?" Tai retorted angrily.

The Emperor smirked creepily. "No, it's a distraction."

Tai's eyes widened as he turned around and saw a cloud of red dragon-like Digimon flying towards Kravas town. Their shrieks and roars echoed across the sky.

"You were stalling for time," Tai growled. "Agumon, Warp Digivolve now!" Tai's Digivice glowed a bright orange. A beam of light shot at Agumon, engulfing the Digimon in the light of Digivolution."

"Like I'm going to let you." The Emperor's gauntlet beeped. Dark energy pulsed from it towards the Digivolving Agumon, cancelling the transformation.

Tai was floored. "What was that?"

"A compact version of a Control Spire. It allows me to block the Digivolution of only one Digimon, but it only lasts a few hours before its effect wears off. But I'm not too worried, since you won't last minutes anyway."

The flock of Red Dragons were closing in quickly. Tai had no method of escaping the speedy flying Digimon, nor did he have any way to fight back. He was fighting a former team member who had outsmarted him. It was complete defeat. He lowered his head, hands falling limply by his sides.

The Emperor gloated at his misery. "Can you think a way out of this mess? Or are you going to rely on dumb luck to bail you out again?"

Apparently Tai did have a lot of dumb luck.

"Howling Blaster!" A stream of blue fire erupted from somewhere, scorching the ground between Tai and the Emperor, leaving a barrier of fire separating them. Garurumon appeared next to Tai and Agumon. "Get on, we have to leave while the others distract the flying army."

Tai was overwhelmed by now. "Garurumon? But how did you Digivolve without Matt?"

The blue wolf turned his head to look at Birdramon, Kabuterimon and Angemon firing their attacks that exploded, scattering the army. "Look, our distractions won't last. No time to explain, just get on!" Tai and Agumon clambered onto Garurumon's back and with an ear piercing howl, they were off. The Digidestined Digimon took that as their cue to leave.

By the time the fire subsided, the Emperor was left standing alone. He was mad, and when the horde of red Dorugreymon landed, he was cursing loudly. It was the first time the subjects had seen their master without a mask on, so they nervously averted their eyes.

"My Lord?" The head Dorugreymon asked anxiously. He had maroon fur instead of the usual red, a scar ran across his left eye.

The Emperor calmed himself, took a deep breath and addressed the horde leader. "It's nothing to worry about, Rega. Take me back to the Tree of Life, Dorumon needs medical attention."

Rega nodded and lowered his body for his lord to climb on. "And what about my army?"

The Emperor's eyes burned with a dark anger. "Burn this place to the ground, then spread out and search for any other humans within this area. If you find them, bring them to me, dead or alive."

"As you command," Rega responded. He roared the orders to the pack of 20 Dorugreymon, who roared back in approval. With the Emperor, the pack leader took to the skies, leaving the evening air full of the sounds of explosions and screams of pain and fear.

* * *

 _A/N: Man, that was intense! There's a lot for you to digest. I'm personally more satisfied with this chapter than the other side, but that's just me. I hope you like this Emperor, who is obviously not Ken. I find him more dynamic than Ken who just wants to take over the world. At least this guy has motives. Who do you think it is? How will he affect the course of the story? How are Garurumon and the others able to Digivolve without their partner? What will become of Tai and Agumon, with this new information?_

 _We'll be back with Daisuke and his friends next chapter. Again, I don't know when I'll update, but it'll be worth it. Like BreakingWays suggested, I will always prioritize quality over quantity. Those who are just reading this story, I hope you read Davis: LFAW as well for both of that and this are parallel stories. Perhaps some questions found here will be answered in the other one._

 _Leave a review and follow, please! Thank you for reading._


	6. Chapter 6: Coincidences and New Bonds

CHAPTER 6: COINCIDENCES AND NEW BONDS

 _A/N: I'm back! College is hell and I'm only in the second term. Anyways, thank you for sticking with me so far. Shout outs to BreakingWays, SadHelm2, The Piccolas, The Food Dude Apollomon X Stingmon, TheKittenKait, and Mists for reviewing. You guys are awesome! And also, welcome, Thinker to my story._

 _Not going to say much, so on to the story!_

 _DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, except for the plot to this story and my own changes._

* * *

Daisuke and Cody arrived at the lobby of the former's apartment building without any problem. Demiveemon rested in Daisuke's bag, tired from the fight. On the way, Cody kept asking Daisuke questions.

"What's your Digimon's name?"

"Demiveemon. I call him Vee for convenience."

"So he can change form? He can grow into the cool big dragon?"

"Yeah, it's called Digivolving. They have the power to do that apparently."

"Wow, it's like growing up in a matter of seconds then becoming a kid again. Cool!"

Daisuke sweat-dropped. The brown haired kid sure was eccentric and inquisitive. He tried to show that he wasn't really keen on talking at the moment but the hint went unnoticed. Cody continued to ask, "How did you meet him?"

"Well he appeared in my living room, caused havoc, scared the wits out of me and tried to steal my food." Despite himself, Daisuke chuckled at the memory.

Cody's eyes widened in awe. "Wow… Do you think I can get a Digimon partner of my own? I have always wanted one," he asked wistfully.

The older boy raised an eyebrow. "Always wanted one? How long have you known about Digimon?"

"Oh, when I was younger my dad used to tell me tales of how he and a group of friends managed to travel to place called the Digital World. He spoke of fascinating creatures that lived there called them Digimon, he did. Nobody believed me when I told them though…" Cody's face fell slightly but the happy expression quickly returned. "Now I have proof that my dad was telling the truth."

Daisuke jutted his chin thoughtfully. Gennai had mentioned earlier that there were human explorers, so he sieved through the names. A disturbing idea came to him. He asked, "Wait… Is your father Kurata?"

The younger male frowned. "No, it's Hiroki, Captain Hiroki Hida of the 3rd Navy. Why did you ask?"

Sweat-dropping, Daisuke waved his hands defensively. "Eh… It's nothing. Oh look, we're here." Without realising it, the duo had come up to the Apartment where the Kamiya Residence was.

Cody brightened up. "Hey, we're living in the same apartment. That's a nice coincidence." The boys reached the entrance of the lobby and saw two figures sitting on a bench outside, a third one leaning on a pillar nearby.

Yolei sat next to Kari, both looking concerned. The taller girl gripped the silver briefcase that sat on her laps tightly while the younger brunette fidgeted with the black one. TK looked unsettled as well, until he caught sight of Daisuke. His expression cleared and he called out to Daisuke. His companions perked up at the mention of their friend and stood up to meet him.

Kari stepped forward, relief on her pale face. "Davis, I'm so glad you're okay. I was—" she caught herself, "WE were so worried about you."

Daisuke scratched his head sheepishly and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. It wasn't a big deal anyway, Vee kicked that Digimon's butt completely."

Cody snorted. "More like had his butt handed to him before that mysterious guy in green armour showed up."

TK slapped his forehead and groaned. "Aww, and I missed all off that. By the way, who are you?"

The young Hida bowed. "My name is Cody Hida, pleased to meet you."

TK grinned and put an arm around the new boy's shoulders. "Well then, Cody, let me teach you how we get things done around here. First of all, new members of the group treats me to lunch every Saturday for a month. Then they—OW!" He screeched as Kari twisted his ear the same way she did Daisuke's.

The burgundy haired boy winced, for he had been on the receiving end of the pain just earlier on. _I feel for you, TK._ He silently thanked the gods that his own Hikari wasn't that way. Then he felt a gentle hand on his left shoulder. He looked up to see Yolei smiling lightly at him.

"You're safe, and that is a relief."

Daisuke nodded. He appreciated it that his friends cared for him. Back then before his world was turned upside down, he didn't have many close friends… Or did he? He couldn't really remember. All he knew was he had strong feelings towards Hikari, a crush perhaps. He remembered his parents and Jun, supposedly he was a Motomiya and some sketchy details of his hometown. Then everything else was quite blur.

Cody elbowed him lightly, asking, "Are your friends always like that?" they looked at TK who was clutching his throbbing ear and Kari, who was in the middle of a motherly lecture about treating newcomers with respect and about not fibbing.

Personally, Daisuke had a hunch that Hikari wouldn't be so straightforward. He knew that much was true. But this wasn't Hikari, she was a lookalike with a shortened name and strong personality. TK on the other hand was somebody he didn't recall meeting before. He just went along with it to not draw attention.

"I guess not…"

Demiveemon stirred in Daisuke's bag. He popped his head out and asked sleepily, "The other Digimon… Where are they?"

Yolei replied to his question, "They're hiding in that tree." She walked up to the tall oak tree and called, "Guys, Davis is here. Come on down."

Five small creatures jumped out from their hiding spots among the leaves. Poromon flew straight into Yolei's chest and snuggled comfortably while the others bounced happily in front of Daisuke. The commotion drew TK and Kari over, the former still clutching his throbbing ear. Although the boy with the hat was sulking, he eyed the Digimon curiously. Kari had a wary look on her face, but even she couldn't resist the cuteness of the Baby level Digimon. Cody, meanwhile, was fascinated.

"Whoa… I didn't know there were so many of you," the boy marvelled. _Just imagine dad's expression when he hears about this._

Daisuke tried to calm the overeager creatures down. They were in public and things could get ugly fast if people saw them. However, he wasn't succeeding in maintaining control. Ticked off, he yelled, "Hey, shut it! We're not supposed to be seen, so let's just get going."

"But how are we supposed to go with you without being spotted? There aren't many places to hide," Salamon asked shyly.

Kari squatted in front of the puppy-like Digimon and scooped her into her arms. Salamon tensed but relaxed when she realised Kari just wanted to carry her. "I can hold you like this. That way, people will mistake you for a pet or a plushie. That should work."

Salamon nodded. "I'm Salamon, by the way. What's your name?"

"Kari. Kari Motomiya." Next to her, Daisuke cringed as he was once again reminded of the fact that he and Kari were technically related in this reality. While he no longer had intentions of dating her, it was still freaky and creepy.

TK picked up Tokomon, held him up and began to chant, "NAAAAAANTS INGONYAAAA—" he stopped when Kari gave him a glare and rubbed her thumb against her index finger. The blonde regained his pouty expression, put off that Kari was being a spoilsport. "Alright, alright. Staying inconspicuous… I'm Takeru Ishida, but most people know me as TK," he said to the oversized hamster in his hands.

Tokomon licked TK's face, causing the human to yelp. "My name is Tokomon! Tokomon is my name!"

TK wiped his saliva-covered face with his hand. "Don't do that again. Lick Davis' face if you want, just don't lick mine," he grumbled while Tokomon giggled. Daisuke heard the exchange and stuck out his tongue at the blonde boy.

Meanwhile, Upamon jumped into Cody's arms and beamed. He said excitedly, "I'm Upamon! I've seen you in the Academia before. What's your name?"

Cody tilted his head his head. "My name is Cody Hida. I haven't seen you before."

Upamon grinned. "Oh, we Digimon have our hiding spots. We know about everything that goes on in the Academia. It's our home!" Cody nodded mutely, not knowing what to say.

While the others were busy with the introductions, Minomon watched silently from the ground. He felt sad that there wasn't a new human friend for him to meet. Usually he was the one left out before Demiveemon joined the gang, for there were odd numbers. While the other Digimon happily explored the Academia in pairs, Minomon went off on his own. Occasionally, he would tag along with the others, but he still felt lonely at times. It wasn't until Demiveemon came that he had a partner. The blue Digimon was the centre of attention for the other Digimon, but he still spent some alone time with Minomon. The friendship formed was strong, even if it had only begun a couple of days ago.

Yolei noticed that and picked him up, Poromon flittering around her head excitedly. "What's wrong, Minomon? You look so down."

The green bug fidgeted with his arm appendages. "Well, I feel left out. Everybody else has a new friend but me…" he said uneasily.

Yolei stroked his head. "Don't think like that. I'll introduce you to the others." She walked over to TK, Kari and Cody to introduce Minomon. The humans took turns to greet him, whereas Minomon responded shyly.

"Hey, are you guys done or not?" Everyone turned to look at Davis who had somehow slipped away and now stood at the near the elevator. The two briefcases stood at his sides and the boy had an impatient look on his face. "Why don't we save the introductions for later?"

Kari smiled faintly. "You're right. Let's go to your apartment. I hope Mrs Kamiya made her best chocolate cookies today."

Demiveemon somehow heard it and mumbled, "Cookies…" before snoring lightly.

* * *

"And then we have this problem with the armour. It seems to function for only 10 minutes, then it malfunctions and causes the wearer extreme pain. Other than that, it's working like we expected it to," Oikawa finished, handing Gennai the data and blueprints to the Shadow Knight suit.

Gennai took the papers over and ran through them quickly. Then, he strode over to the worktable where the real thing lay. Overall, the armour was impressive. It was based on the original Virtue Knights design with a breastplate, single-visor helmet, rounded shoulder pads and armour pieces. Lying next to the main parts were the tool belt and weapons. There were two forearm-long blades, some mini explosives and a grappling hook. The belt had compartments for the items, electromagnets for the dagger hilts and a small medical kit for emergencies, making it a crucial piece of equipment.

Gennai didn't recognise some new additions such as the gauntlets and the dome-shaped attachment on the back. "What's this thing for?" he asked Yukio. _I don't think this was part of the original suit._ He examined it closely, finding a small closed port at the centre of the circle. It looked like it could be plugged in with something.

Yukio looked over and answered. "That is one of my ideas. It serves as a charging port, for uploading data as well as a docking holder for modification backpacks for different combat situations."

The other man whistled. "That's great. What about the gauntlets? Do they have other functions in them?" he asked, picking up the right hand and scrutinized the piece. It was surprisingly light, for a metal component. On the wrist was a blank timer screen. Gennai saw his reflection staring back at him in the polished black glass.

Shaking his head, Yukio answered, "Not just yet. I have plans for them, but more upgrades would be meaningless if Ichijouji can't use them for more than ten minutes. I can't seem to locate the problem," he growled in frustration.

Gennai turned to look at him. "Show me the algorithm of the suit's internal computer. I think I can help with this." His dark haired ex-colleague stared for a while then grinned slightly. He linked the suit up to a computer began typing away. In a short while, codes appeared on the screen. Gennai scrolled through the algorithm and stopped at the centre. He paused awhile and folded his arms. He did some mental work then pointed at the screen.

"You connected the cooldown function with the power discharging. Every ten minutes the suit has to cool off for a while, and you confused it with the power discharge. So instead of venting, the suit released its power across the suit, causing shock to the user." He reached for the mouse, highlighted the codes and altered it. "There, much better. Now the suit can be used continuously without problem," he announced.

Yukio realised his mistake and his grin grew wider. "Very good, now our problems are solved." He smiled at his old friend and clapped his hands togehter. "I knew you would eventually come around. You should stick around, we could do wonders with the suit. Together we can perfect it!"

Gennai held up his hand and said sternly, "I only did that because I feared the suit might permanently damage the young boy who wears it. I haven't agreed to working with you again."

Feeling that that would be the best response he'd get, Yukio shrugged. "Okay, then. I have plans to customise the suit to maximise its output. Maybe someday we can get to making a few more for your own, what do you call them, Digidestined?"

Gennai narrowed his eyes at his old friend suspiciously. "What are you playing at?"

The dark haired inventor rolled his eyes. "Now you're being paranoid. I'm just making a suggestion. After all, wouldn't it be better your Digidestined are protect by my suits when going into battle?"

 _He does make a point,_ Gennai mused. _The kids would be safe and able to fight back if necessary then._ Finally, he made a choice. "Alright, I'll help you with your project, but only because it's for a good cause."

Yukio chuckled and took a sip from his coffee mug. "Pleasure to work with you again, old friend. Now, about that modification…"

* * *

"What are we going to do now?" TK asked.

The five children were seated comfortably in Daisuke's room, discussing their next course of action. Daisuke sat on the chair at his desk, TK and Kari sat on the bed while Yolei and Cody sat on the floor. They all held the Digimon that they carried into the house as stuffed toys, with the exception of Daisuke. Demiveemon was play-wrestling with Wormmon. At the centre of the circle were the two briefcases, opened up to reveal the contents.

"Well, I suppose we're supposed to find the owners of these Digivices." Yolei said, hugging her knees. I mean that's what that Gennai man said."

The others looked confused by the name. Kari asked, "Who is Gennai?"

Daisuke answered, "Just some weird uncle who gave me this thing." He held up his blue D-3. Everyone turned and looked back and forth between the four similar models sitting in the cases.

Hey, they're the same!" Cody picked up a yellow D-3 and Upamon came to take a close look at it. "Have you seen this before, Upamon?"

The beige Digimon's ear flaps drooped. "Nope, can't say I have."

Kari picked up the pink one and examined it. Salamon came forward and instinctively nudged her hand. A pink glow burst forth from the D-3, briefly lighting up the room and causing everyone shielded their eyes or averted their gaze. TK who was sitting next to Kari had tumbled out of his seating position and lay dazzledly on the floor.

"Dude, what on earth was that?" the blonde boy asked.

Salamon blinked and beamed at Kari. "Did you feel that? Did you feel the warmth in your body? I knew it was you! You were the partner I was waiting for!" The other Baby level Digimon all scuttled forward, their curiosity piped. Demiveemon stopped wrestling with Minomon and stared at Salamon in surprise.

Kari could only stammer a response. "Uh, yeah… What just happened?"

Salamon leapt from her position next to Kari and faced the Digimon who were quite eager to hear what she had to say. "I barely remember what happened when we were back in the Digital World, but I always had a feeling of waiting for somebody. It turns out I was waiting for Kari, my Human Partner!"

Daisuke's jaw dropped. "Wow, so that means you're like me now, Kari! You have a partner, congratulations!" Kari still looked bamboozled but she forced a weak smile.

Tokomon hopped towards Salamon and said, "Yeah, to think of it, I seem to be waiting for someone as well. I think we all are." The Digimon all nodded in agreement. The white guinea pig bounced onto TK and licked his face. "I have a feeling that you're my partner Human, TK."

The blonde wiped the saliva off his face and frowned at Tokomon. "Does being your partner mean I have to put up with you and your face-licking all the time?

"Yup!"

TK looked at Daisuke and begged, "Can we trade partners please? Your face is much tastier than mine and I'm sure this guy will enjoy licking your face more."

Daisuke didn't answer but picked up the green D-3 and tossed it at him. TK caught the object and a bright green light shone when Tokomon bumped his hand. TK groaned, "Why me of all people?"

Cody's eyes widened in excitement. He extended the hand that held the yellow D-3 and urged, "Come on, Upamon. Let's see if I am the partner you're waiting for."

"Okie dokie!" Upamon pressed himself against the hand and the D-3 glowed yellow like a bright sun.

Cody felt positively giddy at the prospect of having his own partner. He grabbed Upamon and hugged him tightly. "You really are my partner Digimon! I don't know about you waiting for me, but I've certainly been waiting for you. My dad told me stories about Digimon and I always wanted a partner of my own and now I do!"

Upamon wriggled in Cody's grip. "Cody, I am happy to be your partner but you're suffocating me!"

Quickly letting go, Cody blushed in embarrassment as Upamon took a deep breath. "Sorry, got carried away. I was too excited."

Meanwhile, Yolei stared at the red D-3 in her hands. She was slightly worried that none of the Digimon here was going to be her partner. In fact, she might not have a partner at all! It was always like this at home, being the youngest and last to choose what she wanted. It was that or she got nothing at all. Poromon noticed her worried look and settled on her lap.

"What's wrong, Yolei?" he asked.

"It's nothing. Just wondering whether I am going to have a partner or not. This D-3 may not belong to me."

Poromon flapped his wings, assuring her, "You don't have to worry about that. I think you're the person I am waiting for. I felt something long ago when I first saw you, before you knew about us Digimon. I watched over you in school, and I was glad when you teamed up with your friend and became associated with Digimon."

Yolei's heart lifted slightly. "Really? Then let's try it out and see if we're compatible." She held the D-3 out with both hands.

Poromon flapped his wings again and hovered in above the D-3. "Compatible or not, it would be an honour to be partners with you." He dropped onto the device and red glow filled the room. When it subsided, Yolei's mouth slowly curled into a smile which became a grin and she hugged Poromon, holding back tears of relief.

"It worked! We really are partners. I'm so glad!" the girl sniffled.

Daisuke looked around him at the newly bonded Digidestined who were getting to know their partners better. He felt happy that his friends were able to experience the thrill of being paired off with a Digimon. He looked down at Demiveemon who was comforting a sad Minomon.

"Don't worry, Minomon. I'm sure we'll find your human partner someday." Minomon nodded glumly. Demiveemon patted his back, trying to cheer him up.

Daisuke felt sorry for Minomon, but there wasn't much that he could do. He addressed his friends, saying, "Now we've settled the D-3s, what do we do with the white ones?" He randomly picked up one of the Digivices and compared it to his own D-3. It was smaller than the D-3 but large enough to cover Daisuke's palm. It was plain white and had three dark blue buttons.

"Hmm, not really fancy. Mine looks much cooler," he concluded.

Yolei eyed something where the Digivice Daisuke removed was placed. It was a rectangular card, blank white on the top side. She flipped it over and found a name written on it. "Hey guys, check this out. I think it's a name… It says here 'Mimi Tachikawa'. Has anybody heard of that name?"

Kari raised her hand. "I think I heard my sister mention Mimi once, although they could be completely different people."

TK sat forward and spun the case towards him. "Do you guys know what this means? Our jobs have just gotten much easier. If there's a name under the Digivices, we can track down the Digidestined!" He picked up another Digivice and took the card below it. When he read the name, he paled.

"No, it can't be. This isn't possible."

Kari peered over his shoulder at the name and her jaw dropped. "I don't believe it either. Your brother is one of the Digidestined we're looking for!"

TK gave her a hard look. "Matt wouldn't keep such a secret from me. We were practically attached to the hip. How can this be?"

Daisuke cleared his throat. "Well, I just found out that Taichi was a Digidestined and somehow got himself trapped in the Digital World with no way home. I woke up in a hospital to a messed up reality and got associated with talking monsters made of data. I don't think your brother being a Digidestined is a big surprise here. In fact, any of our siblings could be Digidestined and we wouldn't know it."

"Yeah, the government kept the topic hush-hushed, according to Gennai. Almost nobody knows about the Digimon," Yolei supplied. TK calmed down but didn't look too convinced.

Cody interrupted them by saying, "Guys, can we just see who our targets are and start searching for them? I should be home soon. I have homework to do." He removed the next one and read the card under it.

"It says here 'Koushiro Izumi'. Any of you know him?"

Yolei answered, "That's the secretary of the Computer Club."

Daisuke read the next one. "Sora Takenouchi. Didn't we meet her today morning?"

TK raised an eyebrow. "Again, it's somebody we know. There is an awful lot of coincidences here…"

Yolei checked the one next to Sora's. "Well, it says here 'Joe Kido'. Please don't tell me you know this person too."

Daisuke, TK and Kari groaned. Daisuke scratched his head and said, "Good grief, even Dr Kido? He was the one who attended to me while I was hospitalised."

Kari sighed before picking up the last Digivice and took the card underneath. "It seems like people around us are all Digidestined. Who's next, Jun?" Her mouth twitched when she saw her sister's name written on the card. Her expression was enough to tell the others about the last Digidestined.

Before anyone could say anything, the door to Daisuke's room opened and Mrs Kamiya poked her head inside. The Digimon in the room froze.

"Do any of you want refreshments? I have milk and cookies," she told the children.

Daisuke gave a thumbs up. "Sounds great, mom." Mrs Kamiya came in with a tray of plastic cups, a jug of milk and a platter of burnt cookies. She set them on the floor and stood up. She spotted the Digivices and asked, "Are those new toys?"

Daisuke answered quickly, "Nope, they're for a science project. We have to create something theoretical that gives us the power to defeat giant monsters if they ever invade our world."

Mrs Kamiya just smiled. "Well, good luck with your project then. I'm glad you are bringing friends over nowadays. TK and Kari don't visit frequently enough and there's that Ichijouji boy from Tamachi who occasionally sleeps over. I just wonder why you kids suddenly developed an interest in plush toys."

Mrs Kamiya looked around at the Digimon who remained absolutely still. She caught the eyes of Poromon who stared back blankly, trying very hard not to blink. After a moment, Mrs Kamiya shrugged. "Oh well, enjoy your tea, kids." She left the room and closed the door.

The Digimon breathed deeply and sighed in relief. Kari gave Daisuke a weird look. "Really, superpowers for defeating monsters? Was that the best you could come up with?"

"Hey, I was under pressure so I said the first thing that came to mind. At least she bought it."

Cody spoke, "Mrs Kamiya mentioned somebody called Ichijouji. Who's he?"

Daisuke scratched his cheek, appearing to think hard. A few seconds later, he said, "No idea at all." The others sighed.

Meanwhile, none of the children touched the burnt cookies but their Digimon attacked the snacks like they hadn't eaten for days. Salamon couldn't reach for a cookie so Tokomon handed her his. The puppy Digimon accepted it shyly and watched as Tokomon dived for a second one. Munching on his snack, Demiveemon voiced his thoughts. "Why do we have to pretend to be dolls anyway? It's not really a big deal."

"It's not a big deal for us, but the public don't really know about Digimon yet. Mrs Kamiya would probably freak out if she knew we were harbouring creatures as destructive as nukes in her house," TK explained.

Upamon assured him, "Don't worry, we're not like those wild Digimon. The partners of Digidestined are not dangerous."

"Speaking of Digidestined, since we know who we're looking for, we can start tomorrow. I need to go home now," Yolei said.

Kari nodded. "I'll take Jun's Digivice back to her. I guess we're going to have a long talk."

"Same goes for Matt. I still need to find out why I didn't know anything about this," TK grumbled.

They got ready to leave, each holding their new partner. After a vote, they decided that Kari and TK should hold onto the white Digivices. Daisuke felt slightly bummed that no one had voted for him, not even Yolei and Cody and he had just met them! Minomon also decided that he wanted to stay with Daisuke so that he had Demiveemon's company. When Daisuke complained that he wouldn't have enough food to feed three mouths, Yolei volunteered to bring some snacks every day to help him. Daisuke gave her a grateful look and clasped her hands, thanking her with puppy-dog eyes. A vein throbbed in Kari's forehead and Cody felt an itching sensation on his bottoms.

As they stood outside the door, TK spoke to Daisuke. "Hey Davis, something has been bothering me. Why did you throw me the green D-3? I would have chosen the red one. Did you know mine would be green?"

Daisuke thought for a while. "Um, I didn't. I just went by the colour of your shirt." He pointed at the olive green t-shirt TK was wearing.

Everybody sweat-dropped. They should have known better than to expect Daisuke to have a better reason for his actions. They waved Daisuke goodbye and went their separate ways.

* * *

Taichi and Agumon held on for dear life on Garurumon's back. The blue striped wolf raced forward, followed closely by Birdramon, Kabuterimon and Angemon. The Angel type Champion Digimon kept turning back to make sure they weren't followed. Tai saw the desert landscape flash past him as Garurumon entered a jungle region.

"Garurumon, where are you taking us?" Tai shouted over the wind.

"Just wait and see!"

They came up to a waterfall and Garurumon slowed down. He padded towards the gushing curtain of water and said, "Wizardmon, it's us! Let us in!"

A disembodied voice entered Tai's head. "Is this the human that you seek? I expected him to look… Stronger."

Tai covered his ears and looked around. There was nobody nearby. "Where are you?"

Birdramon sensed his confusion so she landed and explained, "Wizardmon is our gatekeeper. He can probe minds, so he protects the opening to our hideout."

Garurumon, getting impatient, called out again. "Wizardmon, let us in. We don't have time to waste."

After a moment of silence, the waterfall parted at the centre and an opening appeared. It was an entrance to a secret cave. The Digimon went inside and the hideout was sealed.

Tai jumped off Garurumon's back and landed on the wet ground, almost slipping but he managed to regain his balance. Out of the shadows, he saw a short humanoid Digimon approach him. He wore a worn-out purple cape and had a pointed hat on his head. The collars blocked his mouth but his eyes regarded Tai with a calculating gaze. In his right hand, he held a staff.

 _So this is Wizardmon. He doesn't look so intimidating,_ Tai thought.

Wizardmon narrowed his eyes. "I can hear your thoughts, you know. Don't underestimate my abilities, human."

Behind Wizardmon, another figure appeared. It was an Egyptian mummy that held an automatic weapon in his hands. Mummymon pointed his gun towards Tai and glared at the boy with his single yellow eye. "No funny business, boy. One wrong move and this baby here will deal you a painful death."

Kabuterimon came forward and growled, "Back off, Mummymon. He's on our side. Tai may be our strongest ally against the Yggdrasil and the Emperor. You don't want to get on his bad side." Mummymon was silent for a few seconds before he lowered his gun.

Tai turned to his comrades and asked confusedly, "Wait, what? Ally? What's going on here?"

Wizardmon knocked the butt of his staff on the ground, turning everyone's attention towards him. He gave Tai a hard stare and spoke. "This isn't a game, human. Our actions will determine the fate of the Digital World. We are the hope of the Digimon to topple the Yggdrasil's Empire.

"We are the Resistance."

* * *

 _A/N: That's all for chapter 6. I hope you enjoyed it, because it was so hard to write. I kept typing and deleting some parts when I wasn't happy with it. But I survived, and there we have this chapter._

 _BreakingWays – I get what you mean by a 'bad' chapter now. It was so hard to get out. I have a feeling this story will be tougher to write than Side Davis._

 _I think TK received the most changes in this AU. I hope I didn't make him seem annoying. He was based off Leo from Heroes of Olympus and I wanted him to be the comedic sidekick, so he tends to act weird at times. Don't worry, he won't degenerate into a clown, if that's what you're worrying. Remember that everybody here came from almost perfect and happy families. I'm going by the "What if The Digidestined didn't have emotional baggage" path._

 _I also watched Digimon Adventure Tri lately. It was... okay. Quite nice. If anybody would like to discuss it with me, feel free to PM me ;) Anyways, please leave a review! Let me know what you guys think. ;D Next update will be for Davis: Leader From Another World._


	7. Chapter 7: Lost Memories

_A/N: What's up guys, I'm back! It has been one hell of a semester and I'm finally on my study break. It took me a long time to complete this chapter but here we are! Anyway, shoutouts to everybody who reviewed last chapter. I'm too lazy to type your names this time, sorry :P_

 _Anyway, this story is finally moving on. I recently started a new side story titled Akiyama Ryo: The Story of my Life which is about Ryo and his adventures in the Digital World before he became a tamer. I'm fleshing out the story based on the Wonderswan games, which you may have heard of. I hope you guys check it out and follow it._

 _DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DIGIMON, BUT I OWN THIS STORY AND THE PLOT._

* * *

CHAPTER 7: Lost Memories

Tk stood outside the door of his apartment. He took off his shoes and said, "Tokomon, it's time to act like a stuffed animal again." The baby Digimon nodded and assumed a blank look. TK put the key into the hole and unlocked the door.

"Mom, I'm home!"

His mother, Nancy Ishida out of the kitchen, wiping a dish with a towel. She reprimanded, "TK, where have you been? It's late. You never come home after six."

TK grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I know. I had some work to settle and lost track of time. Is Matt back yet?"

Nancy looked at the clock on the wall and shook her head. "Your dad will bring him home, half an hour after his band practice is over. I wish he would give up his band and be a reporter or a journalist. Why on earth did he even think of forming a band whose music is worse than noise?" she grumbled, more to herself than TK.

 _I don't think Matt will appreciate you comparing his music to noise, mom,_ TK thought. _Besides, why wouldn't he? He has the looks and his singing is not bad._

"TK, is that an animal?" Nancy's words drew TK from his thoughts. He looked down at Tokomon who he held in his arms and nodded.

"No, it's a plush toy, a gift from my friend."

Nancy rasied an eyebrow slyly. "Oh, was it from Kari? You two are quite close"

TK fought back a blush. "No, it's from someone else." _Close we may be, but I have a feeling she likes Davis more._

"Why, aren't you the babe magnet? Got many girls running after you at such a young age huh? Just like your father," Nancy teased her son even further.

The young Ishida turned crimson with embarrassment. To avoid more questions, he quickly went to his room and set Tokomon on the bed and dropped his bag on his chair. He showered and did his homework. All the time, he kept his eye on the clock, waiting for Matt to return. At 7.30, Matt and Hiroaki Ishida reached home. The teen carried his guitar while the man slung his jacket over his shoulder. "We're home!" Matt called.

Nancy smiled at her husband and elder son. "Well, just in time for dinner. I made meatloaf surprise with my special sauce." Hiroaki smiled in return and gave his wife a kiss on the cheek before hustling off to shower.

Matt grinned. He loved it when his mother cooked meatloaf. They didn't eat it often, so it was considered a rare treat. Nancy always made it with her special spicy sauce, and it was fun to see TK chug down a glass of water whenever he put too much gravy on top. The boy just never learned.

TK walked to his side. He had an unusually serious look on his face. "Matt, I need to talk to you after dinner. It's important," the younger boy said in a low voice.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Not important enough to say it here and now?"

TK shook his head. "No, this is a private matter that involves just you and me. Mom and Dad cannot find out about this."

Matt was positively wary by now. TK was normally easy-going and often joked about stuff. However, he was rarely seen wearing a serious expression and when he did, the subject had to be handled carefully. The older Ishida nodded. "Alright, tell me about it later. Right now, I'm starving."

* * *

Red lights flashed in the HQ building of DATS. Sirens blared to notify the staff of the alert. Marcus, Yoshi and Thomas ran to the control room where Commander Sampson sat. The doors slid open to let them in. "Commander, what's the emergency?" Yoshi asked when they entered.

Sampson continued to look at the screen. A map of Odaiba was shown, above it was the word "Detecting".

"The Digimon signal is confirmed to be coming from deep within Forest Area, F-12," one of the operators, Megumi said. The map zoomed in to a housing area at the edge of town, near the border of the forest where the red dot was blinking. "The nearest housing area, H-27 is far enough to not be affected."

Thomas put his hand on his chin. "Wait a minute, that's the place where the mysterious happenings are. The newspaper reported that a hunter who went missing after he entered the woods. Kids who played at the edge of the forest in the evening said they heard moaning and evil laughter. The residents of H-27 also reported weird sounds at night. If I'm not mistaken, there is an abandoned house in there somewhere. The people think that there's something supernatural going on."

Marcus folded his arms. "But now that we know it's a Digimon we can go there and solve the problem once and for all."

The other operator, Miki suddenly shouted. "Wait, the signal is disappearing!" The red dot faded away and the sirens stopped. "It's gone…"

"What should we do, Sampson?" Kudamon asked quietly from his resting place around the Commander's neck.

"If what Thomas says is true, then the Digimon should appear at night. Yoshi, Marcus, Thomas, stake out at the forest tonight, see if you can find out what is happening. Be careful," Sampson instructed the DATS team.

"Roger, sir!"

* * *

After dinner, TK and Matt stepped into the former's room. The younger boy carried a small bowl of rice and some meatloaf, sneaked off the table when his parents weren't looking. Matt had questioned his actions but TK had replied ominously, "You'll find out later."

When they were inside, TK set the bowl down and locked the door. He turned to Matt and said in a low voice, "What I'm about to show you doesn't leave this room. We do not speak of it in front of our parents, nor do we openly discuss it elsewhere."

Matt rolled his eyes. "I get it. Sworn to secrecy. Now can we please move on to whatever you're so dead set on keeping a secret?"

TK nodded, satisfied with the answer. Louder this time, he said, "Tokomon, come out now. There's no need to hide anymore."

From his hiding place under the bed, Tokomon crawled out. He pounced onto TK and tried to lick his face but the blonde held him at arm's length. "TK, it's about time you brought me something to eat. Whatever it is, it smells good!"

TK struggled with the wriggling Digimon. "Tokomon, I won't let you eat if you try to lick my face again, okay?" The baby Digimon nodded and gave a toothy grin. The boy addressed his older brother, "Matt, this is my new friend Tokomon. Tokomon, this is my brother Matt. Now say hi, both of you."

Tokomon said hi to Matt.

Matt didn't say hi back to Tokomon. His countenance was one of complete shock. When he came out of it, he shut his eyes and pinched his nose bridge. "This is a bad dream. I'm not seeing my brother holding a gigantic talking mole rat and I'm certainly not saying hi to it." He opened his eyes and saw TK still holding his partner. "What the hell is going on here?!" he practically yelled.

TK shushed his brother. "Keep it down, Matt. You'll draw mom's attention and we don't want that." He kept his eye on the door for a while before picking up the spoon and holding it up threateningly. "Matt, Tokomon said hi to you. Be nice."

Matt gaped at his brother, who somehow managed to look dangerous with a spoon. He didn't know what to think. In the end, he said hi. TK lowered the spoon and used it to feed Tokomon. Seeing his brother interacting calmly with the oversized hamster, Matt slowly regained his composure and edged closer to them. "What exactly is he, TK?"

TK looked up and answered, "He's a Digimon, my partner Digimon and I'm a Digidestined. Well, that's what Davis called us. I'm surprised that you don't know, Matt. You've met creatures like him before years ago."

"What are you talking about?"

TK narrowed his eyes. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Four years ago, you went on a camping trip and got sucked into another world where creatures like Tokomon existed. You never told me about it but I found out recently."

Matt frowned at his brother. "I don't know what you mean. True, I went camping with Tai and Sora once years ago but that's about it. Nothing much happened and we came home."

TK studied Matt's face. Either he was a really good liar or he really didn't know. Something didn't add up, but TK had a last resort to use. He got up and reached for briefcase which sat at the foot of his bed. He opened it and showed Matt a Digivice. "Have you seen this before?"

Matt shook his head head. "No, I have not."

TK removed the card that was clipped to the back of the Digivice. "Well you should have because this belongs to you, unless I'm confusing you for another Matt Ishida out there." He tossed Matt the Digivice and flipped the card to reveal the older boy's name.

Matt ran his fingers across the white device. Its weight felt familiar in his hand, as if he had held it thousands of times before. He felt a sudden feeling of emptiness in his heart. Often he had felt it when he was alone. Some nights he stood at the balcony and looked at the moon, sometimes longing to hear a wolf howl.

Then recently he had gotten weird dreams. One of them, he recalled vividly, was him sitting peacefully under a tree playing his harmonica. Next to him sat a furry blue animal. At least, Matt thought it was an animal. The feeling of calm and tranquillity struck a chord in Matt's heart, although he didn't understand why. He never had a dog, much less a blue one. He tried to remember what the creature looked like, but his memory was hazy.

In the end, he said, "I'm sorry, TK but I really don't know what is going on. I'll think about it."

TK's shoulders sagged. He had been so close to cracking the case. He didn't understand why Matt couldn't remember his experience with Digimon. It really didn't make sense. However, there wasn't much he could do, but he would try his best to trigger Matt's memory. "Fine, I give up. There are a few people you may know who have Digivices as well. There's Mimi, Joe, Izzy, Jun and Sora. You should go talk to them, at least those that you know."

Matt didn't recognise the first two names but he had heard of Izzy before. The guy was a computer prodigy of the Academia, as well as the president of the computer club. The last two names caught his attention. "Jun as in Jun Motomiya, Kari's sister? Also are we talking about the same Sora?" he asked.

TK confirmed it with a nod. "Yes, it's them alright. They have Digivices and partners like us as well, or at least they had. Something must have happened to you guys that made you lose your memories."

Matt stared numbly at the Digivice in his hand. His friends shared a forgotten experience, he felt empty for some reason and his brother was a Digidestined. TK had said Davis called them that, so did that boy know something that they didn't?

"TK, is Davis a Digidestined like you?"

"Yeah, he is. He was the first among us, which consists of me, Kari and another two kids. One of them is Yolei Inoue, the girl you met today."

Matt sensed something from the information his brother had just given him. It was a shot in the dark, but it could mean something. "Hold on, if you and Kari are new Digidestined, and your two siblings are supposed to be old Digidestined, then could that mean… Tai is a Digidestined too?"

TK scratched his head. "I guess I forgot to mention that but yeah."

"Where is he now?" Matt sat forward, his tone urgent.

"Um, I think Davis said he is trapped in the Digital World or something like that."

Some semblance of a connection became clear to Matt now. Tai went missing some time ago, and the blonde knew his best friend wouldn't disappear without at least telling him or Sora. If he really was a Digidestined then he could have been, like TK said, sucked into another world. That would make TK's ridiculous claims about Matt also being a Digidestined true as well, and that he had really lost his memories. But Matt could remembered that he just came back home after camp and life went on as usual. He didn't have any blank-outs in his memory so it didn't make sense that he forgot something. Then there was the weird dreams and longing that he felt… Now TK's partner was right in front of him, chewing happily on the last of his dinner, proving again that creatures like Digimon did exist.

Matt looked down and clenched his jaw tightly. The whole ordeal was crazy yet it sort of made sense. He really didn't know what to think. TK noticed his brother's discomfort and inner turmoil so he said softly, "Matt, go talk to Sora and Jun. Maybe they can help you accept the facts better."

Matt slowly lift his head and locked eyes with his brother. "Maybe you're right. I too want to get to the bottom of this."

TK smiled. Perhaps here was hope in this situation after all.

* * *

Kari reached her apartment and noticed Jun's shoes outside, but not her parents'. She stood outside silently, not wanting to go in and find out the truth. Salamon voiced up, "Kari, are you okay? Why are we not going in?"

The girl felt shaken due to many reasons. She just had the scare of her life earlier that day, and before she recovered, she had become a Digidestined with a responsibility. It was a sudden change from the blissful, eventless life she was so used to. Her sister was a Digidestined too, and she had mixed feelings about that. She didn't really feel like confronting Jun, but she could see no way out of this. Davis wanted them to find the old Digidestined and gather them for God knows what reason.

Steeling herself, she entered the door. She found Jun lazing on the couch, shifting through channels on the television. "Hey, Jun. I'm back," Kari said.

Jun turned and noticed Kari. "Hey, Kari. You're late. Mom and Dad are out to get dinner. We're having Chinese tonight," she said with a grin. She spotted Salamon in Kari's arms and looked at her sister. "Did you pick up a stray puppy again? That's the second one this month."

 _Here it comes,_ Kari thought. "Err, no. It's not a puppy. Not a real one anyway. This is Salamon."

Jun looked closely at Salamon. The more she scrutinised the creature, the less it looked like a real dog. She glanced at it warily before asking Kari, "What the heck is a Salamon?"

Salamon curled her lips and smiled. "I'm a Digimon, a Digital Monster to be exact."

Kari groaned. She had planned to take this step by step, but Salamon had ruined it by speaking up so early. So, she was greatly surprised when Jun stepped forward slowly and reached out for Salamon tentatively. The older girl's eyes were carefully but they had a strange glint.

"Are… Are you a real living creature that talks? I'm not dreaming?"

Kari backed off, alarmed by the response she was getting. "Um, Jun? Are you okay?" she asked uncertainly. Jun didn't hear her and kept coming forward.

"You're… You're real right? I'm not hallucinating, am I?" Jun's hand touched Salamon's forehead, making the puppy tense up and bared her fangs, growling lightly.

Jun retracted her hand. Kari noticed that her sister's eyes were teary and she was smiling. Tears of joy and relief flowed down her cheeks as she half-sobbed and half-laughed. Kari was getting more and more concerned for Jun's sanity with each passing moment.

"I'm not going crazy after all! I knew they existed!" Jun cried out.

That perked Kari's curiosity. "Who existed, Digimon?" she asked tentatively.

Jun bobbed her head up and down, tears flowing from her eyes. "I'd been having these weird dreams recently, about talking creatures that look like animals. Then I started hearing a voice calling to me when I am alone, telling me not to forget and he will be waiting. I thought I was going crazy, but it turns out it was real! There's something—no, somebody—out there waiting for me!"

Kari's mouth hung open. She had wanted to handle the situation delicately so that Jun did not freak out but it turned out she didn't need to. Her relief turned into anger and concern. "Why didn't you tell me this?" she demanded.

Jun rubbed her eyes. "You wouldn't have believed me. If only I knew you were involved in this, I wouldn't have been so scared… I even considered visiting a psychiatrist for help."

Kari pursed her lips. "No, actually I just got to know Salamon today. I think something must have happened to your memories, because you're supposed to be a Digidestined like me. The voice you heard, it could be your forgotten partner." She set down Salamon on the sofa and rummaged through her bag, fished out a white device and handed it to Jun.

"This is supposed to be yours," Kari informed Jun.

The older girl held it in her hand, feeling a sudden wave of nostalgia and comfort wash over her. She closed her eyes, held the Digivice in both hands close to her chest, as if in a prayer. Then she opened her eyes and asked, "Who else knows about this?"

Kari thought for a while before answering. "Well, there's Sora, Matt, Joe, Izzy and Mimi. I think you know a Mimi who went to America from long ago."

Jun nodded. "Yeah, that Mimi. I'm surprised that Matt and Sora are like me. I would have known if they had the same problem."

"There are some things that even friends don't tell each other. You'll have to find out by asking them," Kari said, thinking back to how Davis never bothered to mention that he was a Digidestined until she forced the truth out of him.

"You're right, I should talk to them tomorrow." Jun smiled at Kari. She stroked Salamon on the head gently, causing the Digimon to shudder and relax, enjoying the touch. "But first, tell me how you met Salamon. I would like to know everything."

* * *

Dorumon stirred and opened his amber eyes. His body ached and he felt hungry. He scratched his bandaged abdomen and winced. _Not a good idea,_ he thought.

When he glanced around, he noticed that he was in the Emperor's chambers back at the Castle of the Knights. Morning sunlight shone through the window, dimmed by the thick curtains draped across it. The room as elegant and magnificent, fitting for a person of high position as the Emperor, who was basically the right hand man of the Digital God Yggdrasil. The furniture was the product of perfect craftsmanship, and a huge wardrobe with gold decors stood at the corner of the room. A chandelier hung from the ceiling and there was a nightstand with a deck of cards on top of it.

Dorumon realised that somebody was beside him. It was the Emperor himself. The male human wore a comfortable amethyst pyjamas. His head lolled to the side and he snored lightly, causing Dorumon's mouth to curl in amusement. The Digimon leapt nimbly onto the Emperor's lap and woke the teen.

"Slept well, my master?"

The Emperor yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Yes, it was refreshing. How are you feeling, Dorumon?"

"I'm fine, master. You need not worry too much about me."

The Emperor stroked the Digimon's head. He said kindly, "You need not call me master. I am but your partner, so you can address me by my name."

Dorumon stared at the Emperor. "Yes, master. I mean, Setsuna al-Monarch."

"Just Setsuna will be fine," the Emperor insisted as he scratched Dorumon behind the ears and the Digimon purred contentedly. Back in the days when he was part of the Digidestined team, he always sat by a tree and watched the sunset with Renamon next to him. He missed her badly, and her current incarnation wasn't really the same. Dorumon seemed to be a male, even though Digimon had no specific gender. He had no memory of his previous life, which was a blow for Setsuna. However, they did share the silent personality, which was something Setsuna was familiar with. Setsuna thanked Yggdrasil for giving Renamon another chance at life. Setsuna and Dorumon, new identities for a new beginning.

Dorumon's stomach grumbled and Setsuna smiled. "I see you're hungry. Let me get changed and we will go down for breakfast."

In a while, Setsuna walked out of his room, wearing a beige button up shirt and jeans. When he passed by the castle's servants, which consisted mainly of Gazimon, Floramon and Mushmon, they averted their gazes and did not question his choice of clothing. Setsuna didn't blame them; it was unusual for them to see the messenger of Yggdrasil in such plain clothes. They were also used to seeing the Royal Knights in full armor all day long. Still, Setsuna was just a young boy. He didn't really need fancy garments. He and Dorumon and headed to the dining area. They had a relatively quiet breakfast. The food in the castle was simple but tasty. Setsuna could imagine the Digimon living off Digital World food without any problem.

When they almost finished their meal, Magnamon walked towards the table. The dragonic humanoid with golden armor bowed when he addressed Setsuna. "Good morning my liege, I'm sorry to interrupt you during a meal, but Lord Yggdrasil has requested that you join him in the training ground where the Knights are."

Setsuna wiped his mouth with the napkin. He stood up and nodded at the Knight. "Very well, I'll be there. Come on, Dorumon."

* * *

Tai lay on his bed in his chambers, Agumon napping peacefully beside him. A tray with empty bowls sat on the ground next to the bed. The bowls of stew had been delivered by a Lilymon who winked at him after setting the tray on the ground. As she fluttered out of the room, Tai smiled and thought back to the time when Mimi's Palmon evolved into a Lilymon. She probably didn't even remember Palmon, her loyal partner and friend who protected her during their adventures. Agumon fell asleep not long after eating, tired from the fight he had with Dorumon.

Having nothing better to do at the moment, Tai studied the room, taking in the atmosphere. It wasn't a really nice place to be sleeping in, for the "room" was actually a tiny damp cavern. Water dripped rhythmically from the stalactites above, the sound resonating like a melody. There were holders for torches on the cave walls, their fires casting moving shadows across the dark space. Two Guardromon stood by the entrance, not allowing anyone to enter nor permitting Tai to leave.

Tai scowled at the thought of being held prisoner. He was the leader of the Digidestined, one of the saviours of the world. How could these Digimon treat him like this? They called themselves the Resistance, vowing to free the Digimon World from the Empire's reign, yet they treated an old hero like he would turn on them any second. If they really needed Tai's help, they weren't making a good impression.

His thoughts turned to the Digimon Emperor and he despaired. The Emperor was a Digidestined, one of his friends. Granted they weren't really close and they disagreed as often as Tai did with Matt, they still worked together and saved the world. He couldn't understand why the Emperor was born.

" _No one said anything was fair when Renamon got deleted!"_

" _The rules have changed, Renamon dissolved into Data completely."_

The Emperor's words rang in his head. He felt confused. So a Digimon that dies, doesn't get reborn anymore? He looked down at the sleeping Agumon and frowned. He couldn't imagine what would have happened if his own partner had died. He sympathised with the Emperor on this, for losing one's partner would truly drive him mad.

The Emperor had mentioned something about the adults creating an artificial Digimon that killed Renamon while they were away. He hadn't heard of such a thing before. He knew the adults played a role by helping the Digidestined defeat the evils of the Digital World once before, but he didn't know what had happened after the gate had closed and they returned to the Real World.

Tai closed his eyes and thought back. Memories slowly surfaced. Appearing back in Odaiba, getting off the tram as it disappeared, being arrested by men in black suits, a white flash… Then his eyes shot open. The adults, the government! He realised that he had lost his memories because they had removed them and confiscated the Digidestined's Digivices.

Tai gritted his teeth in anger. How dare they do that? They had just saved the world, and that was the treatment they received? No wonder the Emperor was furious. He just realised that the Emperor's words "a bunch of creatures" was directed at humans. He was really starting to doubt Gennai now.

" _You think I want to subdue the Digital World for nothing? I will amass an army and I will invade the Real World and punish the selfish adults who took Renamon away from me!"_

As irritated as Tai was with the adults right now, he couldn't just let the Emperor carry on with his invasion. If he really attacked, the humans would retaliate and lives on both sides would be lost. Tai had to find a way to stop the S—no, _the Emperor_. His old comrade was no more.

The sound of the guards moving aside broke his train of thoughts. A figure in a cloak stepped in, face concealed by the hood. However, Tai could make out two glowing non-human blue eyes regarding him with interest. The figure was flanked by Garurumon and Wizardmon, the latter smiled and nodded encouragingly while the latter still had a look of distrust. Tai shook Agumon lightly, "Agumon, wake up. We have visitors." The yellow lizard stirred and opened his eyes. He sat up and yawned.

The cloaked person chuckled in a deep male voice. "I see you have gotten some rest. I hope you're up for a walk, let me show you around."

Tai raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who are you? And if you want to show me around, this place had better have more than just rocks and caves."

Wizardmon stepped forward and pointed his staff at Tai. Energy crackled dangerously at the head of the staff. "How dare you speak to our Lord that way?" he demanded. "I should punish—"

The man held out his arm to stop the spellcaster. "It's fine, Wizardmon. I should have expected such hostility, since he had been locked in for a day."

"But, my Lord—" Wizardmon protested.

The man grunted sternly and Wizardmon shrank back to his position, still giving Tai the evil eye. Tai noticed Garurumon snorting amusedly at the scene. The "Lord", as Wizardmon had called him addressed Tai. "I'm sorry about that, boy. Most of the Digimon here haven't taken to humans kindly since The Emperor and way before that."

Tai shook his head. "I know. But really, who are you? You command a lot of respect from them."

Chuckling, the man pulled down his hood. Tai reel back slightly at the look. The head was not human, but it had draconic features. His skin was silvery, glowing slightly. Instead of a nose and mouth, a snout protruded from his face. A long, white moustache and goatee hung from it. He looked like a humanized Chinese dragon. The creature smiled at Tai's reaction, his glowing blue eyes had laughter in them.

"Frightened by my form? Don't worry, I will not harm you," the dragon man assured Tai. "My true form is much more magnificent."

Tai stared speechlessly at him. Agumon squinted and gasped. He jumped off the bed and bowed lowly. "In due respect, my Lord. It is an honour to be in your presence."

The bushy haired boy was dumbstruck. "Uh, Agumon? Who exactly is he? Is he a Digimon?"

Agumon stared back into his partner's eyes. "Tai, he is not just any Digimon. He is the avatar of Lord Azulongmon, one of the guardians and Sovereigns of the Digital World."

* * *

 _A/N: That's all folks. What do you think of the Emperor? I get the Luke Castellan and Galbatorix vibe from him. Something went bad, he lost a partner then he turned to the dark side and became the leader of the Empire. So Matt and Jun want to know more about themselves, and Tai is starting to question Gennai's motives. I bet you were surprised by Azulongmon's avatar huh?_

 _What did you think of this chapter? Leave some comments please, and I hope you enjoyed it~_

 _See you guys in the next update of LFAW and Side Ryo ;) Merry Christmas to all!_


	8. Chapter 8: A Haunted House Adventure I

Chapter 8: A Haunted House Adventure Pt I

After his talk with Matt, TK brought the empty bowl and spoon out to wash. His mom was engrossed with her work whereas his dad sat at the TV watching the news. Neither of them noticed him slip past and enter the kitchen, which was good because he didn't have to explain why he snuck food away from the table. After washing and leaving them at the rack to dry, TK wiped his hands dry and opened the refrigerator. He took out a can of Coke and popped the can. He took a gulp and sighed contentedly. As he walked back into the living room, the news caught his attention.

" _There was an incident two streets away from the Academia this afternoon. A freak accident caused the explosion of several cars and the destruction of public property. The cause of the accident is unknown and authorities are looking into in as we speak. Eyewitnesses say that it was a terrorist with a flamethrower and grenades."_

The screen showed images of melted asphalt, car wreckage and police sealing off the location. A disgruntled woman was interviewed about the incident.

" _The terrorist disappeared after that, and it is suspected that he is part of an international terrorist group. It is advisable to be careful these few days until the criminal is caught."_

TK snorted into his coke. _Terrorist? They have no idea what they're dealing with,_ he thought. He walked to his mother's laptop and glanced at the screen. It was an article about an abandoned mansion and a missing poacher. He skimmed the lines of the paragraph, catching some words like "whispering", "weird weather" and "ghosts".

 _That's interesting,_ the blonde mused. _Could it be a Digimon causing this?_

TK's mother noticed her son standing behind her and looked up. She pinched the bridge of her nose wearily and said, "It's another one of those weird incidents again, TK. We seem to be getting more of them lately. No one really understands why these things happen but they just get forgotten."

"Maybe because nobody wants to remember them?" TK suggested.

Nancy shook her head. "Whatever it is, it's getting tiresome. My colleagues believe it's a restless spirit but I think this one is just a prank. Anyway, I'm going to have to submit this draft by tonight." She gave her son a tired smile. "Tomorrow's Saturday. Do you have any plans?" she asked.

TK shrugged. "Err, I'm planning on hanging out with my friends after I'm done with my homework. Probably we'll just go to the mall or the park. Some boring place as usual."

Nancy nodded. "So long as you don't go looking for ghosts in the abandoned mansion," she joked.

TK put on an innocent look. "You know me, mom. I'd never risk my safety like that."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Commander. We failed to contain the Digimon. Its signal has vanished from our radar." Thomas apologized to Sampson over the phone. He pressed the wireless earpiece to his ear, frowning at the looming mansion before him. He, Yoshi and Marcus had staked out in their car outside the mansion, waiting for a Digimon signal to appear. When they got it, they had rushed out to apprehend the rogue. They had to use flashlights because power was cut from the mansion.

The Digimon had used the darkness to play tricks on their minds and they had run around in circles. Marcus had punched Thomas because he thought the blonde was the enemy lurking behind the corner. Agumon had jumped Yoshi and Lalamon, although he claimed afterwards that the Digimon was behind them and he missed because it was dark. Then when they caught sight of their target they failed to catch it. Overall it was a disastrous mission that ended with all of them getting bruised and confused and the Digimon was nowhere in sight.

"Is that so? Do you have any information on the target?" was Sampson's curt reply. He didn't sound too pleased. Thomas felt humiliated for disappointing the commander. Richard Sampson was lenient, but he didn't tolerate constant failure. Since Thomas teamed up with Marcus, his perfect track record had been damaged quite severely. Granted the two had begun to work better but the blonde still felt irritated that the brunette's rashness was the cause of their failure.

He almost complained to the commander about Marcus' blunder but he stopped himself. Sampson would have berated him for that. After all, they were supposed to have patched things up. Instead, he told what he observed from the experience.

"The Digimon had skilful manipulation of the shadows, sir. He—I think it was a he—could melt into the darkness and disappear completely. It was like he could teleport and escape our attacks. We were fighting shadows, sir," he explained.

"I see. Any image of the Digimon?"

Thomas recalled seeing nothing but glowing red eyes. "Negative, sir. There was no clear sighting of the target other than its eyes," he said.

"Anything else you'd like to report?" Sampson asked.

Thomas felt slightly uncomfortable with what he was about to say next. "There is… a complication, sir. We found the dead body of the poacher that went missing and another three unidentified bodies inside, completely sucked dry. Apparently this Digimon has been around for some time."

Commander Sampson was silent for a while. Thomas probed, "Sir?"

A sigh came from the other end of the line. "That is very disturbing news. Very well, report back to base and we will plan another operation." The earpiece buzzed with static and the line was cut. Thomas sighed as he turned and walked back to the car. Yoshi and Marcus were already in it, waiting for him to get in. He opened the door and slid into the back seat.

"Finished reporting to the commander?" Yoshi questioned and Thomas nodded in confirmation. She changed gears and drove back to DATS Odaiba headquarters.

After a few moments, Marcus cleared his throat and looked to the back seat where Thomas sat. The young genius was leaned against the door, gazing out at the night view of Odaiba. The newest recruit of DATS cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Hey, I'm sorry for punching you in the face. If I knew it was you then I wouldn't have done that."

Thomas looked at his colleague and touched the sore part on his jaw where Marcus' fist had struck. He could feel a bruise forming already. His lips curled and he said "Don't worry about it. You couldn't have possibly known it was me because you didn't even have your flashlight with you."

Marcus scratched his head embarrassedly. He had tripped and dropped his flashlight hard on the ground, spoiling it. Then he somehow got separated from Agumon. Finally he saw the Digimon and followed him around the corner. His first thought was to throw a punch and it landed. Right on Thomas' face. "Yeah, my bad. We really have to do something about that Digimon. I'm itching to drive my fist into that bugging fastard's face right now."

Yoshi coughed. She checked the side mirrors and let a car overtake them. "There is no need for crude language here, but Marcus is right. We need to stop that Digimon before it causes more trouble. It killed four people, and it will probably lead more unsuspecting victims to their deaths," she said worriedly.

Lalamon said from Yoshi's Data Link, "How are we going to do that? We can't fight in the dark, and we don't even know its weaknesses. We haven't even seen it yet."

Agumon's voice came from Marcus's as well. "Who cares? We'll just blast away until hit something. Surely that freak was just hiding in the shadows. I suggest we hit it hard, that is bound to do some damage," he growled.

Gaomon responded, "You'll just burn down the whole mansion and kill us. You can't use fire attacks in there, remember? You'll set something alight. I'm sure my Master has a strategy to defeat our enemy, right Master?" Marcus raised a pointed eyebrow and Yoshi glanced expectedly at him through the rear view mirror.

Thomas had his thinking face on. He said, "We have to try and see if we can get the power connected to the old mansion first. We have to take away our target's advantage of using the darkness. Then need to lure him out into the open so that GeoGreymon can fight. There should be some equipment back at base that we can use."

Marcus punched his palm. "Hell yeah, baby. We're about to become Ghostbusters."

* * *

The next day after school, Daisuke trudged down the hallway to the cafeteria with TK and Kari in tow. The boy was severely tired out by the lack of sleep due to Demiveemon's constant gigging the night before. The Digimon had a little too much energy to burn after discovering Red Bull and spent half the night on a sugar high. Finally at 3 am, Daisuke had manage to fall asleep after Demiveemon calmed down.

Unfortunately he got a meagre few hours of sleep before he had to wake up to attend school. To make things worse, he nodded off in class and got a chewing out by their teacher.

"Remind me to never let Vee near energy drinks again. My parents thought I was crazy with all the giggling," the boy groused, the bags under his eyes visible. He looked like a grouchy panda, and his slouched posture and drowsy movements only strengthened the resemblance.

Kari smiled sympathetically. Salamon had been good and quiet, thankfully. She also had Jun to help her keep the little Digimon a secret. "Well, at least Minomon wasn't part of the problem, was he?"

Daisuke shook his head and yawned. "Thankfully not. It's bad enough with Vee, I don't need _two_ hyper Digimon in my room. Minomon helped me tie down Vee and gag him. Then we put Vee in my wardrobe."

TK raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that considered cruelty to animals?" He asked. Even he wouldn't go that far to tape Tokomon's mouth to stop the little guy from licking him. Not that he hadn't considered that option though. Still, he was glad Tokomon could control himself as well.

For a second time, Daisuke shook his head. He replied, "It didn't work. We had to take him out because the cupboard began shaking like something was trying to come out. It was scary as hell."

The trio reached the cafeteria right after. It was like a food court, housing several stalls that offered different types of food. Students lined up at the counters to get lunch. The ramen corner had the longest queue, whereas the hawker selling mixed rice stood there shooing flies away, attending to the occasional customer.

Yolei sat at a table at a quieter corner. She stirred her porridge, looking a bit bored. She perked up when she noticed Daisuke and his companions and stood up, waving them over. The burgundy haired boy slipped into his seat and slumped face-down onto the table.

Kari frowned. "The dirty table is going to do wonders to your face."

Daisuke's muffled reply came, "I don't care."

"What's wrong with him? He looks like he has been through hell and back," Yolei commented, peering at the boy.

"Well, if you consider a hyperactive Digimon causing you a night of mayhem and costing you your sleep hell then yes, he has," TK sneered. Daisuke didn't even object.

"Oh," was Yolei's understanding reply. Poromon had insisted on finding his own place to rest for the night yesterday but when Yolei's siblings had discovered him. It had turned into a struggle to touch and play with the new 'soft toy'. In the midst of the chaos, Yolei had snuck the bird into her room and they slept peacefully. She placed a hand on Daisuke's shoulder and said, "If it makes you feel better, I had a hard time keeping Poromon to myself. My siblings always get to share what's mine and only after my mom intervened did they agree that Poromon would be mine only."

The only reply she got was a soft snore. Daisuke had fallen asleep.

Kari and TK left to get food, leaving Yolei and their sleeping friend. Yolei ate some of her porridge. Sometimes she stole a couple of glances at the boy in front of her. She smiled at his peaceful sleeping face.

"Why are you grinning at Davis like that?" A soft voice startled Yolei out of her skin and she noticed Cody standing next to her. The young boy was eating a tuna sandwich and looking at her curiously.

Yolei placed a hand over her heart. "You scared me," she scolded.

Cody shrugged and took another bite. "Doesn't beat the fact that you were staring," he said and took a seat next to the girl.

Blushing slightly, Yolei busied herself with the porridge. TK and Kari soon returned to the table with their meals. TK had bought pasta and Kari had some pastries for herself. In TK's tray, there was a steaming plate of curry rice for Daisuke. Setting the food on the table, the girl nudged her sleeping classmate gently and Daisuke lifted his head off the table. He moaned, upset that his dream about curry rice had been cut short.

"Kari, I was just about to eat that steaming spoonful of curry rice…" he said groggily. Kari's mouth twitched and pointed to the plate in front of him. Daisuke's eyes widened and he sat up straight, his tiredness forgotten. "Aww, thanks! How did you know?" he picked up a spoon excitedly.

Kari beamed and winked at him. TK cleared his throat uncomfortably and said, "Actually, it was I who paid for it. Kari just chose the food. I clearly deserve some recognition too."

Daisuke rolled his eyes, saying, "Yeah, yeah. I'll pay you back later." He put a large spoonful of hot rice into his mouth and melted. "Oh sweet cheese and crackers, this is so good…" he breathed, feeling his mouth warm up.

Kari and TK sat down and began eating their lunch. The table of five shared jokes and stories merrily. Halfway through, TK casually asked, "Tomorrow is a Saturday. So what are you guys going to do tonight? Any plans?"

Yolei and Kari both shook their heads. "Nothing much, what's up?" the latter responded.

"I was thinking about exploring that old abandoned mansion at the outskirts of town. I heard that there are mysterious things happening there. It could be…" he looked around and leaned closer towards the table and said in a hushed tone, "… something related to Digimon."

That got the attention of his friends. Even Daisuke stopped eating to listen carefully. TK continued offhandedly, "I think we should go check it out. If it's really a Digimon problem then we can help solve it. If it's not, there's still nothing wrong with a little harmless adventure."

Cody frowned. "As much as I would like to come along, my parents have a really strict curfew. Besides, I have Kendo class with my grandpa tonight."

Yolei nodded. "I'm not sure whether I can come myself too. Besides, a few kids running around in the dark is quite dangerous, don't you think?"

TK groaned. He tried to make his friends see some sense. "Guys, don't be killjoys. It's going to be fun. Davis will come, won't you? He's not scared at all."

Biting his lip, Daisuke thought for a moment. His rational side told him that not going would be the sensible choice, but his adventurous side was flaring and rearing to go. Backing off would be a sign of cowardice and Daisuke was no coward. He spoke up, "TK's right. It shouldn't be anything. We'll go prepared, and maybe have a sleepover."

TK shot him a grateful grin but Kari wasn't amused. She tapped her fingers on the table worriedly. "Davis, you're not supposed to encourage him. It's not safe."

Daisuke considered pulling out. Was the risk really worth it?

 _Nah, it'll be fine_. _Vee can protect me._

"We'll be safe, since we're bringing our Digimon along. If anything happens, Vee can transform and whoop some serious butt," he said confidently. Kari still didn't look reassured, he said, "Don't worry. I promise we'll be safe."

 _I hope,_ Davis thought.

* * *

Later that day…

"We're gonna go where? We're gonna do what?"

Daisuke tossed two pairs of socks into his backpack. There was always a need for extra socks. He didn't know why but things always happened that caused him to end up with wet shoes and socks. There was one time he didn't see where he was going and stepped into a giant puddle. Then another time he slipped and fell into the lake. He also didn't understand why water pipes just _had_ the tendency to burst right when he walked past. Not once, not twice, but seven times. He probably won't encounter such a problem in an abandoned house but he wasn't taking any chances.

"I told you, Demiveemon. We're going to go exploring at night," he answered his blue friend who was currently sitting on the table, sucking on a popsicle.

"Davis," he said, "We're aren't supposed to go out at night. Night is when scary things come out and try to eat us. It's not safe."

Daisuke rolled his eyes. He took out a flashlight from his drawer, clicked to test if it worked then chucked it into his bag. "You're starting to sound like Kari. I know it's not a walk in a park but where's the fun without a bit of risks? Also, TK and I had a bet to see who screams first."

"I don't know, Davis…"

Daisuke stopped searching for his penknife to look Demiveemon in the eyes seriously. "Vee, I need you to protect me and TK. If anything goes wrong, you have to bail us out of there. We're counting on you."

Vee stopped sucking his popsicle. There was no changing his partner's mind. He sighed, "Alright, but you owe chocolate after this."

Daisuke chuckled as he grabbed some extra batteries. "You're already draining my pocket money. A little more won't hurt, I guess."

The popsicle slid out of Demiveemon's mouth and he licked his lips. "I want ten bars."

"Oh hell no. Two bars."

"Eight"

"Four."

"Nope, too few. Six!"

"Nuh uh. Five. No more, no less."

"…Deal."

Grinning, Daisuke held out his hand and grabbed Demiveemon's stubby hand. They shook on it. "Now finish that popsicle and help me pack up!"

* * *

"Is everything ready, Yoshi?" Thomas spoke into the Bluetooth communicator in his right ear.

"All clear, Thomas. How are we doing, Marcus?" came Yoshi's reply.

Both of them heard grunting before Marcus spoke gruffly. "I'm alright. It's set. You sure this is going to work?"

Thomas looked at the equipment placed in front of him. It was planted firmly in the ground like a flag pole. Around a metre tall, it had three trumpet-like extensions pointing upwards, to the left and to the right. Ten metres to his left and right were similar devices. They were placed around the perimeter of the old house, forming some sort of fence.

"The projectors will produce a containment field that prevents Digimon from leaving or entering. Digimon are made of data particles and can thus the barrier will prevent our target from escaping. The Distruptors planted in the building will limit the movement of our target then we'll direct it outside. There should be no escape this time," Thomas said.

He checked his watch. It was 6.23pm, not sundown yet but soon. Birds chirped and flew back to their nests. The sky was a dark shade of orange. In a while, night would fall and their operation would begin. He took a deep breath and walked back to the car.

* * *

Around 8pm TK stood outside the mansion. Daisuke was not there yet, but he stared at the dark building looming before him. The mansion stood in the middle of the woods, worn by time and weathered by sun and rain. Creeper plants and moss grew all over the walls and the grass was long and wild. He shone his flashlight at rusted gate and gulped.

"Having second thoughts, TK?" Patamon said from atop his head. Tokomon had eaten so much earlier that he had evolved into Patamon. The white oversized hamster had turned into an even larger oversized hamster, expect it was orange and it could fly.

"Yeah, maybe this isn't such a good idea after all… I knew it would be scary but I didn't think it'd be this frightening. Do you think we should head back?" He glanced at the red and yellow crime scene tape across the gate. "This tape clearly indicates that we shouldn't be anywhere near it.

"Oh hell no, I just got here. We are not turning back now," TK turned around and yelped. Daisuke was shining his torchlight from below his chin, making his face shadowy and creepy. "Aha, you screamed. Does that mean I win?"

TK shoved his friend lightly. "Nice try, but we haven't gone in yet so that doesn't count. Anyway, where's Veemon?"

Daisuke shone his torch down at the small blue figure next to him. Not unlike Patamon, Demiveemon's huge consumption of food had gave him enough energy to evolve into Veemon. The blue dragon was wearing an oversized maroon hoodie, supposedly Davis'. "He's here. Anyway, shall we?

TK used his torchlight to illuminate the path before him. He pushed the gate, which made a creaking sound was it swung open, making an entrance large enough. He bent low and stepped through the tape and said, "Alright, but I won't be holding your hand if you start crying for mommy."

Daisuke and Veemon followed him through the gate and lightly tiptoed down the path. The grass on both sides of the walkway were as tall as his chest. The sounds of crickets were loud and they came from all directions. The night was windy but the full moon was bright. Daisuke froze when he saw a glowing pair of eyes in the trees but when an owl flew out he relaxed.

 _Maybe I really didn't think this through,_ he pitifully thought to himself and hurried to keep up with TK.

* * *

"I've got something on radar," Yoshi announced. Thomas and Marcus stopped their bickering and turned their attention to their female colleague. The brunette eagerly leaned forward, asking if it was their target.

Yoshi furrowed her brow. She said anxiously, "Actually, we're picking up more than just one signal. We have… four signals. That's not a good sign, isn't it?"

The young woman's Data Link beeped and Lalamon's digitized voice came from the device. "I'm sensing two humans and two Digimon, but I don't think they're the ones we're looking for."

Thomas struck his signature thinking pose. He wondered out loud, "There shouldn't be any human in contact with Digimon, much less walking together. They must be either DATS agents or civilians who befriended Digimon. Since we're the only agents on the case, that means those people are—"

"—the kids under Gennai's wing," Marcus finished for him. "But what they hell are they doing in there? Didn't they see the 'No Entry' tape we put around the place?"

Thomas got out of the car. "Whatever they're here for obviously isn't worth sacrificing the mission. Marcus, come with me. We're getting those kids out of there. Yoshi, keep your eyes on the radar and keep us updated."

Marcus grumbled as he checked his torchlight and gear. "Why the feck does he get to be the boss? I know what we need to do even without him giving orders," he muttered loud enough for Yoshi to hear him.

The brunette girl sighed and said, "Language, Damon. Technically he does have more experience than the both of us and his orders usually work out fine so why not?" Marcus snorted and got out of the car, slamming the door and causing Yoshi to flinch.

She shook her head as she watched the two young men run off towards the mansion. Sometimes she wondered why she even put up with them. Pressing her fingers to her temples, she decided that she needed a raise and a vacation.

* * *

"This place is huge," TK noted. His voice rang across the empty room, leaving a slight echo. The stale air was musty and reeked of mould. There was a thick layer of dust on the carpet, on the table and on the shelves. Cloths were draped across the furniture and dusty faded paintings hung on the walls. There was a cuckoo clock with its mechanical bird sticking out. The hands froze at 6 o'clock, 6 minutes and 6 seconds.

"Creepy. This place has been left alone for ages. It's dirtier than my room," Daisuke rubbed his itching nose, trying not to sneeze. He tripped over something and fell right on his face, creating a small dust cloud. Veemon held his breath and helped his partner up whereas TK fanned his face, trying to get the offending particles away from his nose.

Groaning, Daisuke stood up and patted his body. He shone his torch to see what he had stumbled over and yelped, falling on his bottom and scrambling backwards. It was a shrivelled hand of a corpse. It was dry to the bone and it lay sprawled across the floor in a position that looked like it was trying to crawl towards the door.

TK turned around quickly and took a step back as his eyes met the unsightly thing on the floor. His hand was shaking slightly and his heart was beating fast. He looked at Daisuke who was as pale as a sheet and asked, "Do you want to leave now?"

Daisuke took several deep breaths to calm himself and got up. He said with false bravado, "That body has obviously been around for ages if it's dried up like that. There's probably nothing wrong."

Patamon however wasn't so enthusiastic about continuing their exploration. "Can we leave already? I don't like this place. There's nothing interesting here."

Daisuke shook his head and argued, "That's why we're here. We're supposed to keep looking until find something interesting. Also we have a bet going on."

"Speaking of which, haven't you lost already when you saw that thing right there?" TK said, jerking his head at the direction of the corpse while trying not to glance at it.

"Nuh-uh. That doesn't count as a scream. Not that easy, Mr Hatter," Daisuke said as he turned and marched off. Veemon gave the corpse one last disgusted look before following his human friend.

TK snorted and made haste after his classmate with Patamon clinging onto his head. None of them saw the dead body lift its head and look back.

* * *

 _A/N: I'm back, my dear readers. I'm sorry that this took so long but I had been extremely busy. I have slightly more leisure time during the holiday so I'll get to working on my stories._ _This chapter was originally much longer but I split it into two parts because I wanted to give you something to chew on for now._

 _Teaser: In our next chapter, TK and Daisuke find more than they bargained for in the abandoned mansion. Teaming up with them will be DATS members Marcus and Thomas as they try to get to the bottom of the situation. Stay tuned for more, and please leave some reviews for they are really encouraging. Constructive criticism is well accepted!_

 _See you all in my other stories. I'll be focusing on Ryo's side more, so I hope you give that story a read too._

 _Ultimateblack, out!_


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